The Blood Rain Saga
by Yume-Ryuu
Summary: The story of the creation of the original FREAK chips and the tale of one Vampire's life that changed forever during the Holocaust.
1. Order 1: The Aging Queen 'Edited'

Author's Note:  
  
I want to thank you for wanting to read my fanfic which is over a year in the making. You will find that it might not fall under the same category of many Hellsing fanfics that you have read in the past. I wanted to dig deeper into the past of Hellsing's history and the Royal Protestant Organization. I wanted to keep true to events and locations during the Holocaust and I have written everything with great care and research. I would like to remind the reader that all Hellsing characters used within this fanfic, in no way belong to me and this story is simply my own interpretation of what may have happened during the Second World War when the Royal Protestant Organization were sent to Nazi Germany to stop the experimentation on the prisoners of war. Once again, thank you all for reading and for the feedback you have given me. It is greatly appreciated.

* * *

**Order 1: The Aging Queen**  
  
_"The Holocaust took place across more than 20 European countries which during World War II were in the grip of Nazi Germany. During this period political boundaries changed, states were dismantled, new states established, and hundreds of place names, which before the war were unknown even to educated people, suddenly assumed great historic importance. Who would know the location of towns like Auschwitz, Treblinka, or Chelmno was it not for the death camps established there by the Germans?"  
  
- Jeshajahu Weinberg, Founding Director, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum_  
  
At the height of the holocaust in Germany during World War II, hidden from the eyes of other countries, horrific medical experiments were inflicted upon prisoners of war in the name of the advancement of Nazi Science. Countless innocents were tested on like animals and then slaughtered when the experiments failed. As the experiments heightened, an interest was taken in the creation of some sort super drug of longevity. It was at this point that Nazi scientists began their first stages of the developments of the FREAK chip, a small device infused with DNA that matched that of the true No Life Kings. Although vampires were nothing but a myth to the world, Nazi scientists proved otherwise. During the Jewish 'cleansing' of many cities and towns throughout Europe, the homes of many vampires were destroyed, like the homes of the Jewish victims. Now starving, the migration to safer lands began. But during this time, many vampires were apprehended by Nazi forces and immediately used as the center of attention in the new FREAK experiments. It was a devastating time, for both the mortal and the immortal.  
  
This is where the story begins...  
  
**Warsaw, Poland - August, 1943**  
  
Day was their time of rest. Undisturbed, they slept, untouched by human affairs. But not even the immortal could escape the heightening war.  
  
Rain's eyes immediately shot open as the tremor of the distant explosion shook her coffin. Her natural instinct quickly took hold - it was early evening, still a dangerous time to even consider opening the lid of her resting place. The smell of tainted blood filled her nostrils and before she even had a chance to debate her options of opening the coffin lid or not, it was swiftly lifted up by another pair of pale hands other than her own. "Meister?" She questioned as her eyes fell upon the familiar face of her Master staring down at her. The black wooden lid was quickly cast aside as his hand reached out quickly to help Rain to her feet. "Was ereignis ist?"  
  
Master? What's happening?  
  
"We must leave now." He whispered softly.  
  
Everything was happening so fast, or was it? A part of her knew that this day would come. They were living in dangerous times, danger that threatened even the immortal life of a Vampire. Within the past four years, the Nazis, who had moved like preying wolves into Poland from Germany, had completely taken over. Branding Jewish citizens as outcasts, they had forced over 360 000 of them into the Ghetto - a small enclosed part of the city where they were held like livestock. Within a year they had begun to transport the Jews in cattle cars to the 'labor' camps in the East - Auschwitz, Treblinka, and Chelmno. The tension in the air was growing and a part of her knew that the Jews were being sent to a fate far worse than labor. With each passing day, the numbers of Nazi soldiers patrolling the streets at night were growing. No longer was it a scattered number here and there. Thousands of Nazi guards walked the street at night, making it more dangerous than ever to feed. It was as if they knew she and her Master were there and even though they kept on guard, the danger of staying in Warsaw was growing with each passing day. Something more was rising in the air, and she knew it was time to leave their home.  
  
The moment the sun set, they were on the move. Swiftly, Rain followed closely behind her Master. The air was still and the distant sounds of gunshots from the Ghetto could be heard echoing through the darkness. They would make their way out of the city and then out of the country. Wherever they were going, she knew her Master would lead them somewhere safe. Since her birth into the world of night, he had been there, protecting, watching and teaching her. She admired him and looked up to him as a child would regard their parent. He was her entire world and it was an aspect of her life that she never wanted to change. He was her Father, her Master, and her Lover. No words were exchanged between them as they moved from rooftop to rooftop, alley to alley, and street to street until finally they came to a stop near the bank of the Vistula River - the river that cut Warsaw in half. Crossing the bridge would get them away from the Ghetto and closer to freedom. Looking to her Master, she waited for his signal to move. He could easily cross the river on his own, but his disadvantage was that Rain could not. Although she had heightened movement and strength, she still lacked many of the qualities of a true No Life King. She was only a half vampire and in order to fulfill her transformation, she needed to drink the blood of her Master - something that she knew she wasn't ready for. He did not pressure her to do so for they had an eternity or so they believed.  
  
Keeping by her side, they made their way to the bridge. Their feet made no sound as they crossed the stone pass but even with their silent movement it wasn't enough. At the halfway point, her Master froze in place. Lifting his head, he sniffed the air and as he did so, they both were blinded instantly by two flood lights that suddenly focused on them from the other side of the river. Grabbing her hand, they both turned, only to have more lights light up from back the way they had come. The sound of heavy approaching footsteps filled her ears as she blindly clung to her Master's arm. "Master!" She cried out; making the movement to run forward, but he pushed her back against the stone railing of the bridge, shielding her body with his own. "Damn." He hissed, tears of blood welling up at the corners of the squinting eyes. Baring his fangs, his lips curled back in a low growl. Red eyes, specked with silver tried desperately to focus on situation surrounding them.  
  
"Feuer!"  
  
Rain's world slowed to a dead stop. Nearly drowning out the sound of the gunshots, the sound of her Master's growl was overpowering, it rose in her ears like a lion's roar. No words could escape her mouth as her master wretched himself free of her grip and suddenly pushed her back over the railing of the bridge. "Run." She felt herself suddenly grow weightless. Grasping for him, his figure distanced from her against her will. She was unable to grab hold of him as she fell over the side towards the water below.  
  
"Master!!"  
  
Time returned to normal as her figure hit the water. Thrashing immediately for the surface, she gasped for air. Looking around frantically for her Master, her long black hair stuck to her white face, hindering her view. "Master!!" She screamed out for him. What was happening? Her ears were ringing and the sound gunshots and sirens were overwhelming, but no longer could she hear her Master. Over and over she cried out for him but there was no reply. Fighting the current, she managed to pull herself to shore, but by then the lights and gunfire had faded. Scrambling quickly up the river bank to the road, her mind raced as she ran back towards the bridge. But there was no one there. It was like nothing had even happened.  
  
"Master?" She asked again, her pace slowing to a stop. Turning around, she looked in every possible direction for some sign of her Master but there was nothing to be found. Like so many of children of war, Rain now suddenly found herself an orphaned child of the night with no guidance. She reached out mentally to the connection that her and her Master shared, hope burning within her. She felt something, but it was distant and weakening with each passing second. Rain stood still, clenching her fists as she fought back the urge to cry. She wouldn't cry. Shaking her head as she shut her eyes, she bit her trembling lip. She would find him, even if it meant ripping Poland and every German in it completely apart, she would find him. 


	2. Order 2: Double Murder

Order 2: Double Murder  
  
London, England 6 months later.  
  
"From what our sources tell us, Nazi scientists have been conducting human experimentation on their prisoners of war in the name of German science for well over 6 months now." "Sir Andrew Von Hellsing. We understand that as leader of the Royal National Knights, your heart goes out to the Jewish prisoners being held by Nazi Germany. But their rescue is a job for the British Military, not us. We are members of the Knights of the Round Table. We protect England and Europe from the paranormal. It isn't out place to step into this situation." Andrew's icy blue eyes narrowed as he looked around at the table of men before him. He was well built, well dressed and gave the impression of a general who led a very loyal army. Tapping a gloved finger on the table, he replied sternly: "That's where you are wrong." He reached forward to the pile of photographs lying undisturbed on the table before him. Pushing them forward towards the other men, he continued: "The Nazis aren't simply butchering their prisoners in inhuman ways; they are trying to develop some form of vampirism with the experiments they've been conducting. I'm assuming that they want to use these methods, once perfected, on their military to form an almost super army. Gentlemen, this is very much our business." The photos showed pictures of human dissection. There were photos of strange 'chips' and their methods of insertion into the body through the back of the neck. "They are called 'FREAK' chips. Our informers have gathered information on them. By implanting these chips in the back of the neck, vampiric qualities are somehow unlocked. No one knows exactly how the Nazi's are creating these chips. All that is known is that it creates a cheap near-instant method of becoming a vampire" There was a break of silence as the members of the Round Table looked forward at the light blond-haired man at the head of the rectangular oak table whose length was the entirety of the long meeting room whose style was that the dining hall of a Victorian-era castle. Icy blue eyes traced along the faces around him until they stopped on one of the Round Table members who already had his mouth open in order to speak. "So what do you propose we do about these?" The knight asked.  
  
Andrew Von Hellsing's serious expression lightened as a smile tugged at the edges of his lips. Bringing both his hands up and interlocking his fingers, he rested his elbows on the table. "'We don't need to do anything." He was shot several questioning glances and before anyone could ask what he meant, he answered: "I've sent one of the members of the Royal Protestant Organization as well as a very special agent of the Hellsing Organization to stop them." Andrew grinned. "Only two?! You can't fight an entire country with two men.You-" One of the knights blurted out, only to be interrupted by Hellsing's leader:  
  
"You would be surprised."  
  
***  
  
Treblinka, Poland  
  
"We should be over the train headed for Treblinka in about approximately 5 minutes. Sir Andrew Von Hellsing gave us instructions to fly both you in at 200 feet. We've only got one shot at this, so we had better get you right on target the first time around. I personally think this plan is crazy. You're going to be nothing but a smear on the ground. Would you care to explain to me how you are planning on doing this drop without a parachute?" Alan, a member of the British Air Force asked as he pulled a pack of cigarettes from his vest pocket. He leaned against the wall of the plane near the side door while tapping on the back of the pack for a cigarette to come out. Taking it and placing it to his lips, he replaced the pack and began to tap his pockets for a lighter.  
  
"I don't need a parachute."  
  
Alan looked over his shoulder, towards the origin of the voice. Before he even had a chance to find a light for his cigarette, the smoke in his mouth was suddenly cut by some invisible force. Its tip fell neatly to the floor even before Alan knew it was gone. Taking it into his hand, he analyzed it with a look that was somewhere between confusion and shock. "You shouldn't smoke. It's bad for you." Alan quickly looked up to the figure standing now directly before him. He looked far from anyone in any type of military. He looked more like some 16 year old waiter from a fancy restaurant. But Alan knew that wasn't the case. There was something about him that Andrew Von Hellsing had complete faith in and he knew that unless someone was well prepared, they wouldn't be dropped directly into the lion's den. Alan grinned and reached for the side door, pulling it open. A gust of wind hit them both, but the boy kept his firm stance as the night revealed the Polish countryside below. "Well, I'd wish you good luck, but I have a feeling you don't need it. But I guess it's a habit - Good luck, Walter." Alan said. Walter grinned, stepping to the door and without even another second passing, he was gone.  
  
The train was filled with Jewish prisoners. Cattle car after cattle car loaded with frightened human cargo. The night air whipped past him as Walter landed without any difficulty on the roof of the back cattle car. "Was fuer?" He heard a German voice say. Looking back he saw the observation platform for the guard at the back of the train. Unfortunately the guard of that platform was looked directly at him. Within seconds, the German had drawn his gun and was pointing it at Walter. Strangely, like the cigarette of Alan on the plane, the barrel of the gun suddenly fell off. The German lowered his gun, shock written across his face but before he knew it, the entire platform was sailing back in the air to the passing train tracks below. How had the observation platform simply fallen off the back of the train? Nothing but a strangled cry escaped the guard's lips as his body crumpled and tumbled across the tracks upon impact.  
  
"Nice job." He heard behind him. Quickly Walter looked back towards the front of the train. Standing on the back of the car cattle car in front of him was a girl. Her black hair whipped about her like the snakes of Medusa as she stood staring at him with a smirk across her face. Red eyes shined like rubies between her long onyx lashes. Her pale skin conflicted against the color of her long black form fitting leather jacket that reached to her lower legs. Tall leather boots could be see below the jacket as the wind pushed the base of the jacket upwards. Although there wasn't much that was surprised him in this war, the fact a girl was standing on the roof of the train headed for Treblinka, surprised him greatly. "And who might you be?" Walter questioned, tilting his head to one side. "My name is Rain. I am sorry that I can't stop and chat, but I am a very busy woman." Reaching above her shoulder, she grabbed the handle of a rifle that was hanging on her back. Aiming it downwards, she fired between both the cars. Suddenly Walter's back car become detached from the rest of the train and began to fall back away from the others. "Tshuess!" She smiled, waving to Walter before she turned and began to run towards the head of the train. Immediately, Walter pursued and with each passing car, the woman turned back and shot the link between the cars, causing them to separate. "That was certainly uncalled for." Walter said to what seemed no one in particular as he jumped to the next car ahead. "She is a vampire and by the scent, she is a pupil." A deep voice originating from some invisible force said to Walter. It kept close behind him, following him like the wind. "Shall I immobilize her?" "No." Walter said suddenly. "I think we should wait and see how this scene plays itself out. This certainly adds a little change to the 'Freak' Nazi affair. I am curious to what she is doing."  
  
At the very front car, she stopped. Staring forward at the steam powered locomotive, she raised her gun and pointed it towards back end where she could see the heads of the two conductors. Three shots rung through the air and with no hesitation, Rain quickly leapt forward into the now empty control room of the locomotive as the final cattle car filled with Jewish prisoners rolled back away from it, thinking that she had lost Walter on one of the cars since she could no longer see him. Gritting her teeth, Rain's eyes narrowed to mere slits. Now that the Nazi's fresh livestock had been rerouted to freedom, it was her perfect opportunity to attack. For 6 months, she had been searching for a sign of her Master. Word from the underground had spoken of Nazi conducting experiments on their prisoners while trying to develop their own fake vampires. Somehow a piece of her was telling her that her Master was involuntarily involved and with all her heart she believed that by running faster, she would find him sooner and save him from the hell that the Nazis could have been putting him through. And so she searched the Concentration Camps and Killing Hospitals, finding only closed doors and distant clues awaiting her. As the locomotive approached the Treblinka Death camp, she felt her hatred for the Nazis, growing. As the train continued to run at an accelerated rate, Rain snapped from her thoughts as the lights of some farm houses whipped past. She looked up; the camp was approaching within a kilometre. Quickly, Rain began to pull random levers until the needle indicator of pressure meter on the steam valve before her moved into its danger zone. Steam began to pour out of random valves as the pressure became too much for the machinery of the train to bare. It didn't take one of great intelligence to figure out what was about to happen. Rain ran to the door and threw it open to reveal the nearing lights of the concentration camp. Gripping the doorframe with one hand, she placed the rifle back into the holster on her back she hung, waiting for the perfect moment to jump. Finally it was time. She jumped with feline grace, onto the platform of the station as the train continued to run away down the soon to end tracks. Rain could hear panicked German cries of soldiers who witnessed the expected train whip past the loading platform with no passenger cars or crew. Rain's lips curled into a smile, revealing her small needle white fangs as she reached down to her sides to two more holsters that held two long barrelled hand guns. Lifting the guns, she aimed and fired at the head of each guard as her body twisted in the air while she jumped. Several men, who hadn't even noticed, Rain leap from the train, dropped to the ground. Rain landed, but didn't stop long enough for anyone else to catch a glimpse of her. Jumping up to the roof above the train platform, she continued to run. There wasn't any time to spare. Sirens began to ring out and she knew that her time was running out. Leaping into the yard of the Treblinka concentration camp, Rain scurried across the grounds, avoiding all spotlights and soldiers who were now on the lookout for any intruder. Buildings become nothing but passing blurs in her vision as she rounded corner after corner and passed over every wall in her way. She knew exactly what she was looking for and within several minutes, she found it - the main killing and experimentation hospital of the Treblinka camp. 


	3. Order 3: Lost Memories

Nobody will tell you what I've done for you  
  
Fifty thousand tears I've cried…  
  
Screaming, deceiving and bleeding for you  
  
And you still won't hear me  
  
London, England  
  
Present Day  
  
"What do you make of this, Alucard?" Integral asked, reviewing the papers on her desk of the new chain of connecting murders that were surfacing in London. Walter stood by her side, quiet to the situation as his eyes traced over each letter on the files she held. Shadows undisturbed, Alucard appeared from the darkness, the lenses of his amber tinted glasses flashing simultaneously as a grin tugged at the edges of his lips, revealing his sharp ivory canine teeth. "Nine murder victims in total. Each victim was found with their head and heart removed, their corpses drained of blood. Police believe it to be another 'Jack the Ripper' case. At first there were no connecting clues found, but as the Police dug deeper, they discovered that all of the victims were involved in acts of Anti-Semitism."  
  
Integral looked up at Alucard who said nothing, but the expression on his face told her enough. He was looking at Walter and Walter back at him.   
  
"History is repeating itself isn't, Angel of Death Walter?" Alucard smiled. "This rain of blood may very well save me from boredom."  
  
Walter's eye twitched out of sight of Integral's gaze and as Alucard's grin grew even more, his figure faded back into the darkness. No answer was given to Integral, and instead of any light being shed on this new subject, only more questions rose in Integral's mind.   
  
"Please excuse me, Lady Integral." Walter said suddenly, bowing as he dismissed himself from the room.  
  
"Walter…" Integral began, catching his attention as his fingers touched the door handle. "There is something more, isn't it?"  
  
Walter was silent for a moment, his fingers curling tightly around the handle.   
  
"You never told me many stories of your time in Poland and Germany during the war… But from what I did piece together of what you said, it was a nightmare."  
  
The old steward slowly turned to look back at her. His eyes deeply reflected another time and Integral knew almost immediately from the expression on his face that whatever was happening in London was touching him deeply inside.   
  
"Whatever nightmare you saw, I won't let it repeat itself in England."   
  
He said nothing. Silence filled the room as Integral's strong words lingered in the air for several more moments. What else could he do? Never would he willingly wish to repeat the horrid tales he experienced during the war. So much bloodshed and death had been spilled out before him and even though presently he would give up his life in a fight to protect the Hellsing institution, he could never again go back to the time he had spent in Poland. But Alucard was right, history was repeating itself.   
  
"Rain…" He whispered absentmindedly to himself after he had left Integral's room.   
  
"Rain?"  
  
Immediately he looked up to find Celes walking towards him in the hallway. Her head was tilted to one side in question as she stopped only feet away from him.   
  
"Ah, Miss Celes, I am just talking to myself." He said, smiling at the young police woman.   
  
"You seem uneasy…" She replied, her senses picking up on how he was using a smile to mask his conflicting feelings inside. Walter's gaze fell to the floor, his troubled expression returning.   
  
"You needn't worry about the thoughts of this old man, Miss Celes." He answered. "I simply worry about history repeating itself…"  
  
"History repeating itself…?" Asked Celes, his answer leaving her even more confused.   
  
"I am sorry. I must go prepare Lady Integral's evening tea."  
  
Celes didn't have a chance to react to Walter changing the subject so abruptly. Walking past her, Celes was left standing, watching the steward of the Hellsing family walk slowly down the hall away from her.   
  
'Police woman…'  
  
Alucard's mental touch suddenly traced over her mind as his voice echoed in her ears.   
  
"Master? What does Walter mean by history repeating itself?" Curiously she asked, hoping her Master would clear the confusion in her head.   
  
'He is faced with a ghost from his past…' Alucard answered, leaving nothing but more riddles. Another silence gripped the air until finally Alucard spoke. 'I think tonight it is going to rain.'  
  
Treblinka, Poland – February, 1944  
  
"No! Please!" The young Jewish prisoner gasped, struggling against the tight grip the soldiers had on his arms. But it was no use; they held him in place, dragging him forward into the operating room of the hospital. The prisoner's dirtied face filled with shock. His eyes caught the sight of what lined the walls and it scared him so much that he went silent. There were photographs – photographs of past surgeries performed on other prisoners. He felt his body grow numb with fright. The photos were nothing more than bloody massacres. Before the prisoner had realized it, tears were streaming down his face as he saw his own fate before his eyes. Suddenly the guards jerked him back and he lost his balance, but he didn't have far to fall. His back hit cold flat steel. Now lying on an operating table, his arms and legs were quickly strapped down with leather belts as the clothes were cut from his body. Whimpering, his eyes shot around the room. It was a large square room that was littered with bloodied instruments. "Oh God…"  
  
"Don't be frightened." He heard a voice say. Looking up he saw three men at the end of the operating table, staring at his naked body with an expression of maddened craze. "You should be honoured that you are being used in the furthering of German scientific knowledge." The closest doctor continued. Suddenly the man walked forward, holding a small vile in his grasp. Stopping right next to the Jewish patient, the German Nazi doctor held the vile up to his face. At first the prisoner could see nothing but a blur of green liquid. But as he looked closer, he could see something was floating inside of the vile, yet for the life of him, he could not tell what it was.   
  
"What is your name?" The doctor asked.  
  
"I-It's Christoph…" The frightened Jew whispered in reply.  
  
"Well, Christoph. This is a FREAK chip. We are going to put this inside of you and if we are lucky, it will have some wonderful effects on you." The doctor chuckled, but was quickly interrupted. The sound of the security siren of the camp and surrounding area filled the hospital, leaving the doctor with a less than pleased look on his face. "It may be that we may have to postpone the operation…" He grumbled.  
  
"There is an intruder in the hospital!" Everyone suddenly heard a voice yell from the hall outside the operating room as a soldier ran through, spreading the news.  
  
"What? What do you mean there is an intruder in the hospita-" The doctor turned and immediately stopped in shock as he found himself face to face with the end of the barrel of a gun.   
  
"Hi there." Rain smiled curtly. Everyone within the room immediately went still except for the two guards, who both took several steps towards the doctor and the woman who had appeared out of thin air.   
  
"Stay back!" Rain ordered, not keeping her eyes off the doctor who was at her mercy. "Or do you want to see this man with a hole in his head?"  
  
The doctor nodded to the guards to comply with Rain's wishes. The guards quickly stopped in their tracks, leaving a hanging silence in the air. Rain's eyes narrowed as she stared at the Nazi doctor and him back at her. He was calm, even as Rain hissed at him.   
  
"Where is he?" Rain demanded to know.   
  
"He?" The doctor asked, almost confused.   
  
"Where is HE?! WHERE IS FROST?" Rain shouted, pushing the end of the barrel harder into the doctor's forehead.   
  
"Frost is not here."  
  
"LIAR! Frost is here. You hold a piece of him in your hand! Where did you get it?" She snapped, baring her fangs.   
  
"I don't kn-"  
  
"You do know, filthy human. I can smell your lies."   
  
The doctor grinned, his eyes narrowing as they reflected sick joy. "Auschwitz."  
  
A scream escaped Rain lips, her finger quickly pulling the trigger. Blood splattered outwards, coating the floor and nearby walls in crimson droplets. The doctor fell to the ground, motionless. Like a blur, Rain twisted her body in full circle, firing as she did. She hit a guard and 2 doctors, but was unlucky to find herself being shot at by the remaining guard within the room. Yet no bullet hit her. As she was about to fire on the guard now that she was given her chance, she watched with shock as he suddenly fell to his knees, his head decapitated from his body.   
  
"What?" She asked no one in particular, her eyes wide.   
  
"I knew you would be more interesting to follow." A voice said behind her. Quickly she turned back around to see the boy she had seen on the train. Walter smiled to Rain as he reached down to undo the bindings of the prisoner who had quite visibly fainted from fright.   
  
Rain's glare shot towards Walter, the grip on the hilt of her rifle tightening as she leapt towards him. Not even in the blink of an eye was Walter out of her path. He stepped out of the way, a smile across his face. She twisted her hand that held the rifle in his direction and aimed directly at his forehead. Oddly, she felt something push against the side of her head as an unseen deep voice whispered with a sense of excitement in her ear.   
  
"Even as only a half vampire, your speed has been heightened and your will to fight is admirable. But please tell me, can you dodge the bullet of a gun pressed to your head? Lower your gun or whatever plans you have made will have no meaning after this night."   
  
Rain stood for several moments with the gun pointed towards Walter, silent as she gaze remained locked on the member of the Royal Protestant Organization. Her gaze was uneasy as she thought over the voice's threat. Slowly she lowered her arm and then lowered the gun to the floor where she let it lay.   
  
"Tell me, girl. What are you doing here?" The voice asked as Rain continued to stare at Walter, her expression a mix between anger and defeat. After a few moments, she replied:  
  
"I have been searching or 6 months for my Master, Frost, who was kidnapped by the Nazi soldiers." Rain explained, her eyes shifting in the direction of the invisible force pressed against her head. "Does that qualify as something important or are you going to shoot me anyway?"  
  
"I'm sorry, it's just that this is quite exciting, wouldn't you agree? I have been very bored from fighting the fake vampires…" The voice continued. Suddenly, the air beside her shimmered with hints of red. Like mist, it thickened and swirled, forming something. As Rain turned her head to look, no longer was she standing beside empty air. Standing to her right with a gun pointed now at her forehead was a man wearing a red Victorian style jacket. A grey suit could be seen beneath its front folds. Her eyes traced upwards from his chest to his face. A wicked grin was tugging at the edges of his mouth as he looked down at her with crimson eyes shaded by the brim of his red hat.   
  
"Nosferatu…" Rain whispered under her breath. 


	4. Order 4: Connection

Order 4: Connection  
  
London, England - Present Day  
  
Celes swallowed hard as she looked up at the bright lights of the surrounding building signs. It was the club district of London, a place that she had very rarely visited as a human. Drugs were big here, but she had never been assigned to this area until now where her reasons for being there had nothing to do with drugs. The murder victims had been found in this area and she had been sent to investigate. The sounds of mixing beats flowed out into the crowded streets and Celes wondered how on earth she would find any needle of information within the haystack of people. Taking a deep breath after trying to gather her thoughts, she stepped forward into the crowd, her first move to go to each scene of the murders.   
  
The murders were spread out across the district. Their locations showing no connections as some were in abandoned buildings and others were in public places. All nine murders had happened within a 3 month span and as the death toll went up, no one was any closer to solving the mystery of who was causing the murders and why. Celes leaned back against the wall of an alley connected to the main strip of clubs that was the location of the fourth murder. Looking upwards, Celes frowned at the sight of a completely cloudy sky.   
  
"Master was right… It does look like it is going to rai-" She stopped, something moving not far from in her in the alleyway. It was footsteps but they were almost to light to even be audible. Sinking back against the wall, closer into the enveloping shadows, Celes watched and waited. Something was moving not far from her and within moments she could tell that it wasn't human. There was a feeling emanating from it, a familiar feeling. She kept her gaze locked on it as a hand reached silently for the gun at her side. The figure was back onto her and so all that was visible was long black hair and a black form fitting long black leather jacket. Slowly the figure turned and Celes was started to see that it was a girl. A girl who appeared to simply be standing with her eyes closed. Gradually she continued to turn until she stopped and immediately took a step forward. Reaching down into a pile of trash before her, she dug her hand in deep only to withdraw something that made Celes jaw drop in shock. The girl was holding a vile that held a FREAK chip.   
  
"Stop!" Celes immediately shouted, stepping out of the shadows to draw her gun on the girl. Immediately the girls eyes opened, her gaze centered on Celes. Her eyes were crimson and their gaze was like that of two lasers boring into her skull.  
  
"I was wondering if you were going to remain hidden in the shadows for the entire time I was here." She said as she slipped the vile into one of her many pockets. "But I don't have time to 'stop'. I am sorry, Celes Victoria is it? I have no interest in killing you, you don't have anything I want and by the way you smell you are a kindred spirit. Please excuse me."  
  
"How do you know my name?" Celes questioned, lowering the gun, yet keeping a tight grip upon it. "Who are you? What do you want with that FREAK chip?"  
  
"My name is Rain and this chip belongs to me. As for knowing your name, I can feel it." She whispered.   
  
"Rain…?" Celes repeated. She remembered that that was the name that Walter had spoke of in passing. Snapping out of her thoughts suddenly, she raised the gun again. "You are the one who is responsible for the murders, aren't you? I can't let you leave!"   
  
Silently, Rain turned and without a second thought, Celes shot the gun, but Rain's figure disappeared in a dispersing cloud of black curling mist.   
  
"Damn…" She said, lowering her gun again. Through the confusion of the passing incident, Celes knew one thing for sure - she had to find Walter.  
  
I hold my breath as this life starts to take its toll  
  
I hide behind a smile as this perfect plan unfolds  
  
But oh, God, I feel I've been lied to  
  
Lost all faith in the things I have achieved  
  
I've woken now to find myself  
  
In the shadows of all I have created  
  
I'm longing to be lost in you   
  
(away from this place I have made)   
  
Won't you take me away from me  
  
Treblinka, Poland - February 1944  
  
"Tell me again why you are following me and why you decided to take 'him' with you?" Rain asked, looking over her shoulder at Walter who was helping a partially conscious Christoph. Rain was ahead of both of them, pushing her way through the brush of the forest north of the Treblinka camp. Alucard, whom she had met at the killing hospital, had disappeared off into the shadows in which he had come, but even though he had physically disappeared, Rain could still feel his presence in the close area around her.   
  
"Well to answer your first question, you are much more interesting to be around than fighting FREAK vampires which I have been doing for the last several months. To answer your second question, it's common courtesy to help someone in need." He said. "You never know when you may be the one in need of help."  
  
"I don't need anyone's help and I don't want you following me!" Rain hissed stopping and spinning around to face him.   
  
"Ugh…" Christoph whispered as he slowly began to come to, leaning against Walter for support. For a moment he was groggy, but once he realized that he was no longer in the captivity of the Nazi's, his head shot up to look at Walter and then to Rain.   
  
"Y…You!" He gasped, suddenly pushing away from Walter, so that he could get a better look at them both. "You saved my life!"  
  
Christoph dropped to his knees, clenching both his hands together in almost worship of both figures. Tears were welling up in his eyes. "Thank you. If ever you need anything, call on me, I am in your debt."  
  
Rain was looking over her shoulder at him, her eyes unnoticeably softening. There was a moment of silence as Rain clenched her fists together.   
  
"We have to get you to a save place for the time being until we can find a more suitable place for you." Walter said.   
  
"And WHERE do you propose we put him? The entire country side is crawling with Nazi worms. He would never survive. He would be shot on site." Rain growled.   
  
"Please do not worry about me; my family grew up in this area. I know of a safe place I can go for the time being."  
  
It was less than Walter had expected. Christoph's idea of a safe place appeared to be an old abandoned farm house several miles from the Treblinka camp. As both Walter and Rain followed Christoph into the building, they were surprised to what they found.   
  
"This was my family home. I didn't have time to return here before I myself was capturers by the Nazi's." He said as he walked into the kitchen of the home. Both Vampire and Hunter stopped in the doorway and watched Christoph. The Jew stopped next to the woodstove near the wall and with a few good pushes, managed to slide it several feet to the side. Beneath it was a trap door which he quickly opened.  
  
"Aunt Hinda!" Christoph said his face brightening up as he peered down into the hole.   
  
"Christoph?!" A voice suddenly spoke out and to Walter and Rain's surprise; a face appeared out of the darkness of the hiding spot. "You're alive!"  
  
An older woman rose up from the hole to wrap her arms around the boy. Rain's heart lifted slightly, but quickly she turned and began to walk away.   
  
"Wait!" Christoph shouted out to her as he hugged his aunt, but broke away from her to stop his savior from leaving. Stopping to look again over her shoulder, she stared at Christoph, eyes full now of impatience. "You saved my life. I owe it to you. Please call on me at any time."  
  
Turning back, she continued to walk without saying a word but soon stopped, looking up at the sky. It would soon be day and it would be far too dangerous to search for a place of rest now. "Allow me to sleep here. I cannot travel during daylight."  
  
"Of course, mien Retter. Please come inside." He said, not really knowing that the reason that she couldn't travel during daylight was because she was a vampire. She and Walter followed Christoph down into the sanctuary below the woodstove, surprised to find that it was much larger than they had first thought. It was a basement with several more Jews seeking refuge. Bringing them into a back room away from the others, he offered the room to Walter and Rain.   
  
"You may sleep here." He motioned to a cot in the corner of the room.   
  
"Thank you; do not disturb me until the night has fallen." Rain whispered, moving into the room. Removing her guns from their holsters, but keeping one in her hand, she wasted no time in lying down upon her offered place before she was hauled into a deep sleep, not caring whether Walter was watching or not.   
  
Crawling through this world as disease flows through my veins   
  
I look into myself, but my own heart has been changed   
  
I can't go on like this   
  
I loathe all I've become  
  
Lost in a dying world I reach for something more   
  
I have grown so weary of this lie I live  
  
'Do you believe that you will find him?'  
  
Rain felt herself floating, yet it did not feel odd. She felt something brush against her hair and chin and immediately her eyes flew open. She was suddenly standing in the hallway of some castle. No longer was she wearing her long leather coat and black dress but instead she appeared in a black formal Victorian gothic dress. Onyx flowing sleeves folded over the pale skin of her arms. Quiet she scanned the area around her.  
  
'Do you believe that he is still alive?'   
  
It was nothing but an echoing voice in the halls. No matter where she ran, she couldn't pinpoint its location.   
  
'Would you search for him forever?'  
  
'Yes! I would search for him until I drew my last breath.' Rain replied, stopping and turning as she tried to find the face to the voice. 'I will not stop until I find him.'  
  
'Even if he is dead?'  
  
'Yes.'  
  
'Splendid.' She heard a voice say behind her. Quickly she spun around only to find Alucard holding a gun aimed directly at her forehead. She had enough time to see him smirk before he pulled the trigger and then there was darkness. I 


	5. Order 5: Hell's Gate 'Edited'

**Order 5: Hell's Gate**

****

**London, England - Present Day**  
  
Finished his evening duties, Walter had retreated to his private reading room next to his own quarters in the Hellsing mansion. He had been their steward since he left the Royal Protestant Organization several years after the war ended. But no matter how long it had been, he had never forgotten his time in Poland.  
  
"Rain, I knew someday you would wake up..." He whispered to himself as he sat near his desk.  
  
"Who is Rain?" A voice asked behind him. Walter went silent; he knew who it was without having to turn around. Celes stood the doorway, looking to Walter whose solemn gaze had fallen to the floor.  
  
"She was an orphaned fallen angel." He said as Celes came into the room. "I had met her in Poland during World War II when she had been searching for her Master who had been kidnapped by Nazi's. When I saw the photos that Lady Integral had, I knew it was her. She had a certain way of killing her enemies." "Is she hunting because of the Anti-Semitism?" Celes asked. "And what do the FREAK chips have to do with her? Why is she collecting them?"  
  
Celes's mind raced with questions of the mysterious girl that she wished to know more about. Walter's gaze rose as he turned to look at Celes. "Although she hates the Nazi's for what they did, Anti-Semitism isn't her main reason for hunting. The first FREAK chips had been developed during World War II by Nazi scientists. They were created using the original DNA taken from a captured Vampire that they had obtained."  
  
It took a moment for Celes to piece two and two together. "It was her Master, wasn't it?" She asked, her eyes widening.  
  
"Yes. Pieces of him were used to create the first FREAK chips and because of that they are all she has left. She hunts for her Master." He explained, leaning back in his chair as Celes found a place to sit. "But you said that she would one day wake up. What did you mean?" Celes questioned. "It's a long story." Walter replied. "Not you're typical bedtime tale..."  
  
"Please Walter...I want to hear it." She pleaded, knowing that finally hearing the truth of Rain's past would aid in stopping her. Walter took a deep breath and sighed, turning to look at the dim light of the lamp upon his desk.  
  
"I met her in Treblinka, Poland. She was searching for clues that would lead her to her Master. When she discovered that her Master was being kept at the Auschwitz Death Camp, I couldn't let her go alone..."

**Treblinka, Poland - February, 1944**  
  
The day itself had been uneventful. Walter slept with his back against the wall near Rain's cot and as Rain wished, no one had disturbed her. As soon as night had fallen, Rain's eyes were open and she was preparing her next move. "So where are we off to next?" Walter asked, watching as Rain check the ammunition in her guns and put them into their holsters.  
  
"'We' aren't going anywhere." Rain said. "'I' am going to Auschwitz."  
  
"Auschwitz? That's over 200 miles away." Walter said.  
  
"Yes and if that Nazi bastard was right, my Master is there." Rain answered, walking into the hidden basement room with the entrance to the upper part of the house. Quickly Walter jumped to his feet from his position on the floor, brushing himself off as he followed her to the staircase. "It's suicide to go to Auschwitz alone." He said sternly, stepping into her path. "I'm going with you."  
  
"I don't need your pity-" She hissed.  
  
"No, but you need my help. I'm going with you." Walter replied, pushing himself forward so that they were face to face.  
  
"If you get in my way, I'll kill you." "Fine." Walter answered, moving out of her way. Baring her fangs she turned away and began to walk up the stairs to the entrance, where she left, not even acknowledging the Jews that had helped her.  
  
'She excites me.' Walter heard the cool voice of Alucard whisper over his shoulder. Although he would usually reply to him, this time Walter said nothing. They definitely had a differing opinion of Rain. His job was to stop any FREAKS; Alucard's was to silence any vampire who didn't live up to his level of worthiness of being a child of the night. How did Alucard see Rain? To Walter, her quest was a noble one. She was a strong fighter and he knew that she did respect life. If she didn't, she would have allowed Christoph to die. She had a heart, and a part of her was human. She knew her heritage and she was proud of it.  
  
But what was Alucard thinking? The mysterious vampire whom he knew personally little about, but entrusted his life, seemed oddly taken with the vampire girl. Perhaps it was the fact that Alucard had not seen one of his true kin in a long time. Being a vampire was one thing, but living up to its true name was another. Time after time, Alucard had fought pitiful vampires who knew nothing of what it meant to be a true No Life King. Although Rain was only a child, perhaps Alucard knew her true intentions. Her dedication to the night and the honoring of her heritage proved to him that she was worthy to live.  
  
"Lord Walter?" Walter was suddenly jarred by his thoughts by Christoph's voice behind him. Looking around over his shoulder, he saw the Jewish boy standing there, supported by his Aunt who helped him stand. "I couldn't help but overhear that you were heading to Auschwitz. My sister had been sent there over a month ago – although I pray every night, I fear that she is lost to this world. Most women and other specially selected prisoners are sent there by cattle train every week on this night to that camp. If you go north from our home, you may find the train that goes there. All you have to do is wait at the tracks." Christoph said. Walter's eyes widened for a moment and then softened as he nodded.  
  
"Thank you." He answered, turning to face the young Jewish boy.  
  
"No, it is I who should be thanking you. I am in your debt forever."  
  
Walter nodded and then followed in the direction Rain had gone. Making their way north towards the train tracks, they left the safe haven of the Jews behind, perhaps never to see Christoph and his family again. But Walter thought of them, hoping that they would finally be able to live in peace. Waiting for the train to come, no words were spoken and honestly, Walter didn't know what to say. It had been well into late evening before he heard the rumble of a nearing train, another train transporting the Jewish prisoners like cattle. Even though Rain hid behind an expression set in stone so the pity that she held for the human captives would remain concealed from Walter, but somehow he knew. Silently and swiftly as the train approached and passed, they jumped aboard, remaining between the cars so that they weren't seen by the soldiers who guarded the Jews. There wasn't a time when Rain didn't feel the other 'presence' follow them. She knew it to be Alucard, the vampire who had made himself known to her the previous day by putting a gun to her head. But at no time did she say anything. Enough was said during her dream where he made it clear that she was saving him from his boredom. Everything was a game. That fact disgusted her and she prayed inside that she would never have to see him again. Pulling her jacket in closer to her chest as the train sped down the tracks, she leaned against the front of the car, trying to keep her balance upon the metal ledge. Mile after mile passed like a blur as she felt herself growing closer to her destination.  
  
'Master... I am coming...' She thought to herself, her hair whipping around her. Closing her eyes for a moment, she let her mind drift away from the world. She took a deep breath in and then exhaled out slowly.  
  
'Rain...'  
  
She opened her eyes and looked up. Her eyes widened as she came face to face with her Master. But something was wrong. His beautiful silver and red eyes had been ripped from their sockets as scars crisscrossed across his face. She jerked forward, a panicked cry escaping her lips and suddenly her eyes flew open again and the image was gone. But before she realized that she had been dreaming, she pushed away from the train car and lost her balance, nearly falling down between the cars. Quickly, Rain's hand was caught by Walter's. Staring down at the moving tracks below her as Walter pulled back up, Rain could do nothing but shake with fear filled disbelief.  
  
"Rain? Are you alright?" Walter asked, pulling her back beside him. "Y-Yeah... I'm fine." She said timidly, taking a deep breath as she looked away from him. There was moments pause before she continued: "Thanks..."  
  
"Hey, don't worry about it. I knew you were going to need my help." Walter smiled. Suddenly Rain looked at him, surprise in her eyes. "You just can't seem to keep yourself out of trouble." Walter grinned and then laughed, and within a few moments, Rain, without realizing it, had a small smile tugging at the corner of the mouth. "Ah, I knew you had a smile there somewhere." He teased and she smiled a little more. Perhaps the journey wouldn't be so long, after all.  
  
The passing countryside became nothing but a haze as the night pushed on, but at all times, Rain knew how close they were getting. A familiar feeling deep in her chest hauled her forward and she knew for a fact that she was finally going in the right direction. Several hours before the dawn of day, the train began to slow on its approach hell's gates – the entrance to Auschwitz. Rain's heart began to race as both she and Walter stood. "How shall we introduce ourselves?" Walter asked, pressing his back against the back of the cattle car, Rain beside him. Reaching down she withdrew her guns from the holsters and readied them. "The best way we know how." She replied. Simultaneously as the train passed the gates and gradually came to a stop at the inner station of the camp, both Walter and Rain spun around the corners of the cattle cars on either side of the train and opened fire on the unsuspecting guards. Steel wire and bullets whipped through air and as the siren of the camp began to ring out; all the guards within the court yard lay dead.  
  
"Let's go." Walter said.  
  
The killing hospital was even more horrid than the one in Treblinka. As Rain and Walter burst in through the doors, killing the soldiers as they did, Rain stopped dead in her tracks for a moment, sniffing the air as her pupils grew small.  
  
"I can feel him." Rain said, walking inside. Coming upon a flight of stairs, her pace quickened and she wasted no time in descending. Faster her steps became and as she reached the basement, she did not wait for Walter to burst into the only door at the bottom. As the door flew open, several startled doctors turn to face it. Rain entered, pointing her guns at them. They were gathered around a steel table that supported something covered by a large bloodied sheet that at one time or another could have been white. "Get away from that table!" Rain hissed, her grip tightening on the triggers. She stepped forward, her eyes tracing slowly around the room without her target faltering. Next to the table and doctors was a smaller table. On top of it was a holder where several vials with FREAK chips were being kept. The doctors obeyed Rain's command, putting their hands up in immediate surrender as they backed away from the table and allowing Walter, who was standing several feet behind Rain, to take over. With some manipulation, the doctors had no choice to be still since now; wires of steel were wrapped around their necks and upper bodies. Alucard, who had appeared unannounced beside Walter, was now pointing his gun at their heads.  
  
Rain's heart stopped, her face visibly paling more so than before. Silence gripped her as she walked into the now opened room. Like the room in Treblinka, the walls were covered with photos of bloody dissections, but this time, they were familiar. Rain, with an expression of both confusion and hurt, looked up to the pictures before her – they were photos of experiments done on Frost. She could say nothing as she suddenly found her arms grow weak. The guns dropped to the floor and Rain could do nothing but stare, her eyes filled with shock.  
  
'Rain...'  
  
Immediately she spun around towards the sheet covered table in the center of the room. A panicked breath escaped her lips as her eyes traced the outline of a torso and head beneath the sheet. Where the mouth was, she saw the fabric of the sheet rise and fall. Several tears rolled down over her pale cheeks. Walter was silent as he watched her tears trace half way down her cheek, suddenly stopped before they reached the line of her chin. There they stopped and at that moment, Walter noticed the sudden change in room temperature. It had suddenly become so cold, that he could see his own breath rising from his lips. The tears upon Rain's cheek hadn't simply stopped; they had frozen, leaving small icy flecks upon her skin below her eyes. Rain's quivering breath rose up before her, the moisture crystallizing into thousands of tiny shards which hung gently in the air for several moments before floating with the graze of soft snow to her feet. A trembling hand reached out, pulling back the sheet. Her world immediately shattered like glass as her eyes fell upon the defiled body of her master. No longer did he have arms or legs and what was left of the body he did have, was nothing more than stitched together pieces.  
  
"Rain..."  
  
Rain's trembling hand reached forward slowly towards Frost's scarred face.  
  
"This cannot be reality..." She asked with traces of franticness in her voice as her eyes looked about at his defiled body. Her knees went weak and she now leaned against the operating table for support. His silvery red eyes, strangely left untouched after the experiments inflicted upon his now ravaged body, looked back at the face of his pupil, child and lover.  
  
"Rain..." He opened his mouth and whispered. "D-drink..."  
  
"Shhhhh... Master... You mustn't speak." Rain replied, her voice trembling as she held her finger tips to his lips in protest as worry enveloped the expression on her face. "We need to get you out of here. You need to feed."  
  
"There is no time..." He answered his voice rough and tired. "You... must drink my blood."  
  
Rain's eyes widened in surprise, her Master's command was unthinkable. "Master..."  
  
"Rain... I command you." Frost continued, showing no signs of pain as he lay in Rain's arms. He seemed as though his entire being was at peace now that he had been reunited with his lost child. "You must drink my blood... only then will you become a true No Life King and be free of the mortal chains that bind you."  
  
Time stopped as she stared at her Master with growing fear in her teary eyes. "You can't leave me again..." She sobbed her voice cracking as she spoke. Although Walter only knew her for little over two days, it pained him to see her like this.  
  
'I will never leave you' His voice caressed her mind as tears filled her half shut eyes. The feeling was gentle, but did not reassure. Her thoughts trembled at its touch as it tried to calm her. 'It is my time to leave this plane... My soul will travel the night sky forever... We are eternal... We will see each other again... I promise you. Grant me my last wish. Drink my blood.'  
  
_ Good-bye --- You have gone to the place where we can never meet again  
I can't accept the coldness of the eternal parting  
I wish I could have heard from you  
That I had certainly been loved by you  
Only once, even if it had been a lie  
  
-Ayumi Hamasaki_

He leaned his head back, revealing the dirtied skin of his neck. His mental touch enticed her forward and she could do nothing but follow one last time. Rain leaned forward, her jaw twitching as she the fangs sinking into his soft flesh. Hot blood immediately hit the roof of her mouth, and it was that a wave of complete pleasure would follow in it wake. The sound of Frost's heart beat echoed in her ears. She could hear every faint breath he took as if it was apart of her own thoughts. Walter could do nothing but watch as Rain fed from Frost. But within a few short seconds, that almost seemed to extend off into an eternity; she drew back, her lips coated with blood, and the pupils of her crimson eyes shrinking to small black pinpoints. It was as if she had taken some sort of hallucinogenic human drug. Her Master's figure blurred while colors danced in front of her eyes. Her blurring vision was left with enough clarity to witness the last breaths of Frost's life before she was carried away into a dreamlike state of blood lust due to that oncoming change. Against her control his figure suddenly became light in her hands and without warning, disintegrated into nothing but a mound of white sand and dust on the floor at her knees. Sounds of panic escaped her lips as a deep rooted piece of herself suddenly crumbled. She reeled back from her Master's remains, the grip of the change about to take hold. It was hot, as if there was some sort of fire traveling through her veins. It was familiar and she knew exactly what it felt like. It felt like the power she felt when she touched Frost. Now that power was concentrated into every vein in her body. His power pushed through her with every pump of her heart. It caused her perception of reality to spin as she looked about the room around her; the walls were almost completely covered with pictures of how they had experimented on him. Up until this time, everyone within the room had been dead silent. With a combination of Alucard holding a gun to their heads and Walter keeping his deadly wires around several of their necks, the scientist and doctors had co-operated without any trouble.  
  
"Rain...?" Walter asked his eyes wide. Never had he had witnessed the change of a half vampire to a No Life King. He looked to Alucard who was looking to Rain as well, his lips curled into a smile of pure amusement and Walter, for the life of him could not understand why.  
  
Rain could hear his voice; it was recognizable but sounded different than before. It was sharper and when her gaze connected with his, there was a visual difference as well. As she stared at Walter, she could slowly begin to see each line of veins beneath his visible skin beginning to glow a dim red. She could see them pumping with blood... She needed blood. Rain turned her body towards the group from her position on the floor. Her eyes were locked on Walter and he knew exactly what was on her mind. With the grace of a cat, she began to crawl towards him. Quickly Walter shot Alucard another glance, but received no reaction from the vampire who continued to stare at the girl. Gradually in her movement, Rain rose to her feet and walked forward, black hair hanging in front of her eyes. She stopped only feet from them and simply stared forward at the 16 year old member of the Royal Protestant Organization. Without warning her figure shot forward. Walter wasn't even ready for it. He reeled back away from her, soon to realize that she didn't want him at all. She pushed past him in a blur. She was after the doctors. Alucard stepped back, not phased in the least as more blood splattered the walls by Rain's hand. Walter's eyes were wide once again as he watched her reach through each of their chests, grabbing the hearts within and ripping them from their bodies with one hand and decapitating them with the other. He, like Alucard, had seen carnage before, but it simply surprised him that it was Rain causing it in this way. Within moments, not one doctor was left standing in the room. At the center of the body parts and blood, stood Rain licking the blood off of her hands.  
  
"Rain..." Walter whispered. Immediately her gaze shot to him. She hissed, baring her fangs before she turned, her body suddenly dispersing into a black cloud of mist. Walter thought she had vanished completely from the world until the near closed door next to them was torn off its hinges and thrown to one side. Without a word to Alucard, he pursued. Running back up the stairs after her he went. It was easy to follow her because of the soldier's corpses that laid in her wake.  
  
"Rain!!" Walter shouted, leaving the grounds of the hospital and into the snow and cover of the neighboring black forest near the gates of the camp. He could see her tracks. He saw how they went from perfect imprints in the snow to stumbling marks and then to almost a distinguishable crawl. Within moments, he was in a small clearing of trees that was covered by snow. Her black jacket and hair were contrast to the ivory drifts that looked almost blue by the light of the winter moon. Sprawled out in the snow, she was lying like a broken doll. As Walter drew closer he could see that she clenching something in her hand. She was holding another vial containing a FREAK chip and he wasn't sure whether or not it was the same one she had taken from the doctor in Treblinka or one from the room within the hospital. Walter walked forward and stopped only feet away from her unconscious body. He knelt down, pity stirring within him.  
  
"You never wanted the gift did you?" Walter said solemnly, reaching out to brush a strand of hair away from her pale face. "You just wanted Frost..."  
  
"What happened to her?" He demanded to know, his eyes filled with concern as he looked over his shoulder from the unconscious girl to Alucard.  
  
"Rain has become a true Master of the Night, a No Life King." Alucard answered. Walter looked back. The blood on her face had almost completely evaporated from her pale skin, leaving no imperfection.  
  
"We have to get her back to Lord Hellsing." Walter informed.  
  
"No." The Vampire said. "If you return with her to Lord Andrew, you will forfeit her freedom. She is not yours to take, Angel of Death, Walter."

_ Dear my love, how did you wanted to be with me?  
Dear my love, how did you want to be free?  
I can't keep pretending that I don't even know you and  
At sweet night, you are my own.  
  
- Amy Lee_

* * *

Author's Note: 

After much time, I have finally been able to re-edit this chapter to my liking. Spelling mistakes and grammatical errors are finally all taken care of. I hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.


	6. Order 6: The Black Swan 'Edited'

**Order 6 – The Black Swan  
  
London, England – Present Day**  
  
"What happened then? Where did you bring her?" Celes asked, her eyes wide with child-like curiosity. Walter's recollection of Rain's story made Celes's heart beat with sympathy. She tried to imagine Rain's position and how she herself would have acted if she had been in the same situation. Although her and her master were not lovers like Rain and Frost had been, would she have fought an entire army to get him back? Celes didn't doubt the bond that her and her master shared but for some reason she couldn't answer the question of whether or not she would hunt for him. Would she have even made the same choice that Rain had? Frost last wish was that his blood line was to continue through Rain. She had been given the dark gift so quickly that Celes wondered if it had been any other situation, would Rain have even wanted to become a vampire?  
  
"I did the only thing I thought I could. I wanted her to be free, so I brought her back to Christoph." He replied.  
  
"B-But how did Christoph and his family-"  
  
"She never woke up." Walter answered, catching Celes by surprise. "She's been sleeping since World War II because she had no desire to wake up. I had taken the remaining FREAK chips from the camp and left them with her, because they were all she had left of Frost. Christoph gave me his word that he would watch over her until the day she would wake up and since World War II he has kept that promise."  
  
"But why is she only waking up now? Why is she killing people in London?"  
  
"It's because the original FREAK chips have found their way here. They were taken from her tomb in Treblinka and even though she was sleeping, she felt those pieces of him. When they were stolen, she knew. Her sleep has been undisturbed until now. Those men that were murdered in the last couple of weeks were most likely involved with the crime. She wants Frost back and will stop at nothing until she does. I have recently been told that the Iscariot institution has decided to involve themselves in this situation. For what reasons, I don't know, but all I can say is that Rain is going to be hunted..."  
  
Celes was completely in shock. "H-How do you know all this?"  
  
Reaching over to his desk and from the top drawer; he pulled out a letter that had been addressed to him from Rabbi Christoph Berner in Poland. "I received a letter from Christoph only days ago."  
  
Walter handed it to Celes, whose hands nearly trembled as she held the letter between her fingers. What type of letter would this be from a Rabbi who was secretly protecting a sleeping vampire in Poland? She opened it delicately, taking care as she removed the paper from the envelope. Unfolding the letter, her eyes scanned over each word vigilantly.  
  
_Walter Kum Dorne,  
  
Although it has been so long since we have spoken, I regret that I cannot spend time catching up on old times. Although I take the chance that other eyes may fall upon these words, this letter is extremely urgent. Walter, it is of the utmost importance that you know that Rain is awake. A little over a month ago, Rain's tomb was attacked and the pieces of Frost that you left with her have been taken. At first I thought that this situation would not be as serious as what it has become. The Vatican sent members of the Iscariot Institution here to investigate. They demanded information about Rain and any information of knew of her and her heritage. They were looking for something and I feel that Rain holds a connection to Iscariot, but I can't be certain. I thought that no one knew of her slumber here in Poland, but it seems that word spread fast upon her awakening. I have no idea how the Vatican knows of Rain, but it is dangerous for her. Walter, I think Rain is looking for you, I wasn't certain until now. When I heard of the murders in London I somehow knew that that it was her. She knows she is in danger but you must find her before the Vatican does. Please protect her if you can.  
  
Your friend,  
  
Christoph Berner  
_  
"Rain... She is going to be hunted by Iscariot." Celes's eyes were wide with fear at the thought of coming face to face with Alexander Anderson again, the butchering priest of Iscariot. She remembered it had only been several weeks ago that he and Alucard fought in the underground subway tracks heading to Queen's Gate.  
  
"We have to find her..." Celes said, rising to her feet. "I know I don't know the whole story of what is happening, but we can't just let Iscariot do this. Where are we going to find her? She could be anywhere in the city."  
  
"Do not worry, Police Girl..."A voice spoke up behind her. "We do not have to search the city." As she turned she saw her Master standing in the shadows of the room, unnoticed by her for the entire time she had been there. "We do not have to search for she will come here..." Walter said. "And if she comes here, I fear that Iscariot may as well..."  
  
**Treblinka, Poland - A month prior to present day.**  
  
The first thing that gripped her was the hunger. Her jaw ached and the corner of her mouth twitched as her head rolled slowly to the side. Before she even opened her eyes, she knew she was wrapped in the comforting darkness of a coffin – but not just any coffin. It was lined with the softest of silks. A breath filled her lungs and it felt as though she hadn't used them in years. The air was still as she lifted her aching arms up. Her body felt weak and it took more effort than she had been used too to open the stone lid of the coffin. "Master...?" Rain whispered, her voice tired as she opened her eyes to the blackness. His presence was gone. Gradually she managed after some effort to push the lid up and off the base. It toppled over onto the stone floor of what seemed to be a dimly lit chamber. The sound of the lid hitting the floor echoed through empty halls and the loud sound hurt her strangely sensitive ears. Rain rolled to her side again. Sliding an arm beneath her weakened body, she proceeded to lift herself up into a sitting position. Where was she? This was the first time her gaze fell on herself. Her hands were skin and bone. Bringing her hands to her face, she touched her temples. Her head was pounding like a hammer, she needed blood. Rain's black hair was now stringing down over sickly pale skin. Her eyes were slightly sunken in as it now looked as though she had suffered through some sort of fever. Looking around with blurry vision, she almost didn't see the figure enter the open doorway of the chamber. It was a teenage boy. An expression of alarm was lit up by the small lamp in his hand. He stared at Rain and Rain stared at him. Instinct immediately took over. In the blink of an eye, Rain pushed herself forward out of the coffin and across the floor towards the boy. Hissing, she tackled him before he had a chance to realize what was happening. Her arms entwined him, trapping him against her on the floor as she brought her lips to the soft skin of his neck. Her breath trembled, she was starving.  
  
"Rain!" A deep voice suddenly shouted out from the hall near the doorway where she and the boy were struggling. Her curiosity getting the better of her, Rain fought the hunger and looked up to see who had called her name. An old man, with a long white beard and black robes – it was a Rabbi - that much she could tell. She hissed. The sheer fact someone was interrupting her at such a crucial moment, tested the little patience she had. "Let him go." The man continued.  
  
"I must feed!" Rain barked in a raspy voice, as she heaved for air. The sudden movement had almost completely drained her. But she was still able to hold the boy's form tightly. "You cannot understand this hunger!" Her mind was cloudy and her vision was nothing but a smeared blur of images, like a painting whose colors ran together. "Blood will be provided to you upon your request, but I can't let you feed upon one of my students. Please let him go." The man said. Rain stared at him, her eyes locked with his, her lips near to the boy's neck. "It has been my sworn duty to protect you. I promise you that you will receive blood. Please..." "Who are you...?" Rain asked, her eyes fixed on his face. She stared into his eyes, reaching into his soul to familiarity. "You are the boy... The one from Treblinka..." Looking down, her burning red eyes stared at the boy's frightened facial expression. Her grip loosened and she pushed herself back. Once Rain was no longer pinning him down, the boy scrambled back away from her so the older man had an opportunity to step between them. The student looked to his teacher who showed no signs of backing down from Rain.  
  
"Jacob. Please go get some medical blood for our guest. She is clearly hungry after her lengthy sleep."  
  
Rain looked up as the boy nodded to his teacher and quickly scrambled away down the hall as quickly as he could. Rain's put hands to her head, trying to find relief for the headache. "What is going on? You are no longer a boy..." She whispered, her voice filled with confusion. Leaning back against the side of the coffin, she found herself now out of breath. "H- How long have I been sleeping?" She asked, her eyes filled with disbelief as she stared at the Rabbi.  
  
"You have been sleeping for over sixty years." He answered. Rain's face paled visibly.  
  
"It isn't possible..."  
  
"It is possible. After the attack on Auschwitz, you fell into a deep sleep. I promised to watch over you as you slept, and so you have been under my care ever since World War II." Christoph explained. "Unfortunately I cannot say that you have woken at peaceful times. When you were brought here, Walter brought the remaining FREAK chips that contained pieces of your Master..."  
  
She remembered. Eyes wide, she turned her gaze away from Christoph's, trying desperately to hide her face from view as her eyes filled with tears.  
  
"Frost..." She whispered, shielding her face with her shaking hand. "No...Why has my soul been condemned to be tormented in such a way? He has been taken from me again... I sense him. His presence is distancing from me"  
  
"I know it hurts, child. It is something that will take time to adjust to. You have awoken in this new time with no guidance." He said kneeling down beside her as Jacob entered into the doorway with a bag of medical blood in his hand. "But although I am human, I offer you my friendship and any information I have that may help you."  
  
Slowly Rain lowered her hand so she could see Christoph more clearly through the strands of her tangled black hair. Christoph reached back to Jacob and took the blood from him and offered it to Rain. For a moment, she was unsure of how to react, but after a few moments, she accepted his offer. Her jaw aching again, she brought the bag slowly to her lips. Christoph was intrigued by how she did not simply bite into the bag, but took a moment to cherish the food she had received. With trembling hands and quickening breaths, Rain kissed the bag after running her tongue across the cold plastic. Then her teeth sank into it, her mouth filling with blood. Her first gulp was long awaited and she savored every moment. Then she swallowed again and then again, until she had lost count. But it didn't matter any more. Her breath quickened as she swallowed every last drop in the bag. Already Christoph was seeing an improvement in her features. She was looking less sick and far younger than before. Slowly she was becoming what he had remembered. After she had finished, her restored form leaned against the coffin, staring once again at Christoph.  
  
"The vials that were left here with you as you slept have been stolen." Christoph said.  
  
"I can track them myself. Frost is connected to me. To me they have a scent I can track like a wolf." Rain replied, gripping the rim of the coffin and trying desperately to stand on her weak legs as she discarded the medical blood bag to one side.  
  
"You're still weakened. You can't leave until you've regained your strength and have found something suitable to defend yourself with." Christoph continued, reaching out to lend her his support so that she wouldn't fall.  
  
"Oh? And what do you suggest?" Rain said, adjusting her clothes as she began to slowly fill them out.  
  
Christoph smiled at her. "Come with me, I may just have what you are looking for."  
  
Rain was confused as he led her, lending her support for her to walk, out of the small chamber and down the dark stone hallway to another, much larger chamber.  
  
"After the war, I dedicated a lot of my time to studying what exactly the FREAK chips were, vampirism and suitable weaponry." He explained, leaving her for a moment as he retrieved a large black case that was about 5 feet in length and about 2 in width. With some effort, he lifted it up onto the table in the center of the room so that Rain could easily see it as he opened it up.  
  
"This is Kosmos and Kronos, special swords designed specifically for you."  
  
Within the padded case were two three foot swords that upon the hilt had wrist connectors so that they could be reversed so that they were able to point back, protecting the lower arm of the wearer.  
  
"These blades are specially folded steel; you won't find a finer blade anywhere. They are weighted, but you should have no problem wielding them."  
  
Upon each pair there was something written and Rain had to look closer to see exactly what was written on it. Theban letters ran in a line beneath the names on each blade near their hilts.  
  
"Thank you..." Rain whispered, running a finger along the words upon the blade. A familiar power tingled at her finger tips and it took a moment for her to place that touching both Kosmos and Kronos felt as though she was touching Frost. "Why do I feel you still?"  
  
"Frost is apart of you and he always will be. He is also apart of these weapons. I took two of the chips that had been left with you and I infused them into the inside of the blades as they were being made. These swords are as much a part of you as Frost was and they are my gift to you." The old Rabbi said.  
  
Her hand trembled at their touch. She didn't know what to say. She was awe struck. He had given his life to protecting her and he never thought twice about it.  
  
"Thank you..." She whispered.

* * *

Author's Note:

Finally another chapter edited. I hope (like my other chapters) you enjoy the new and improved Chapter 6.


	7. Order 7: The Thousand Year Reich

The world kept turning without me…' Rain thought to herself, her eyes reflecting the lights from the city of London. She stood alone, atop the high walkway of the London Bridge. The wind lifted her black hair, whipping the strands around her body. All light had faded from the sky and now a blanket of night covered the city. 'If only you were here, we could share this new world together…'  
  
The season was nearing winter, but it didn't bother her. Snow flakes floated past and Rain could catch their individual shapes. Each one was different and her sharp sight caught each curve of the tiny glittering pieces of ice. Reaching out slowly, one landed on her palm of her pale hand. It didn't melt, but simply rested there, taking a moment's breath before it would fly off again. "Frosted rain…" She whispered just as a breeze plucked the flake from her palm. "The dreams I had as I slept were of you and now, even though I am awake and you are gone from this world, I still see you everywhere."  
  
A cold breeze wrapped around her as she brought the hand that had held the snow flake, to her chest.   
  
'My soul will travel the night sky forever… We are eternal… We will see each other again… I promise you. Grant me my last wish. Drink my blood.'  
  
She hung her head, his last words repeating over and over in her mind. "How long must I wait? This world has no meaning without you. The glittering lights of the city are nothing more than dying fireflies. The buildings do nothing but crumble before my eyes. All I feel is death around me… When you took me by the hand, I felt more alive than I had ever felt in my entire life. You were my world, now that world is something I can only see at a distance. That world is beyond my reach. Now, that your remains have been taken from me… the world I once knew is furthering itself from me. I promise I will hunt the humans who would take you from me. I won't rest until you are in my arms again. Only then, can I return to my undisturbed slumber."  
  
The lights of the city continued to linger in her vision even after she closed her eyes to momentarily escape its brightness. Everything was quiet, except for the distant sounds of cars from the streets below. After a few moments she slowly opened her eyes, a familiar feeling rising up through her like a wave of heat. "Walter…"  
  
Her eyes flashed like lightning flaring across a crimson sky. Swiftly, her figure faded into a cloud of black mist that was quickly carried away on the wind like the snow that had been falling around her.  
  
***  
  
"And so this story no longer makes the murders in London an open and shut case." Integral whispered. Walter knew that Rain could no longer be kept secret and if he wanted to help her, he knew that Integral must know everything he had told Celes. Alucard was also within Integral's office - seemingly detached from Integral and Walter's conversation as he stood, looking at the portrait of Integral's father which was hanging undisturbed on the wall not far from Integral's desk. "But now we have even more serious matters to worry about."  
  
Integral's eyes traced over the letter that Christoph had sent to Walter.   
  
"We cannot simply allow Iscariot to run free in this city…" She said, looking up from the letter to Walter who stood before her in her office. "But we also cannot let Rain run free either. She is now a wanted murderer and more than just Iscariot will be searching for her. This is a serious affair that you should not have kept secret, Walter. We must find her before Iscariot does. This is not her city to run wild in."  
  
"I am not denying that she has killed several people. But I believe she had good reason. If she is doing what I believe she is, those people that were killed were not as innocent as many authorities think. They were carrying FREAK chips that rightfully belong to Rain. They are the original chips that were created from the DNA of her Master, Frost. She is defending her honour and her memory of Him." explained Walter, standing before Integral, who shifted slightly in her seat in order to cross her legs.  
  
"Even after almost 60 years of slumber, she has kept her promise." Alucard replied, his eyes unwavering from the painting. "She is different from the others. She honours her heritage."  
  
"Even if she is different, she cannot continue to kill whomever she sees fit." Integral quickly answered. "Now that Iscariot sees it to be their business to get involved, more casualties are inevitable. I want her and Iscariot stopped before this has a chance to expand into war."  
  
"I will defend England at all costs, but I have also chosen to protect Rain. I can assure you that she is different and she means not to involve anyone else than the ones that have wronged her. She is not a killing machine." Walter explained.   
  
Integral was silent, as she looked back down at the letter. "Then she is your responsibility. I want her stopped, Walter. Find her. If she is like you say she is, I want to see her for my own eyes. Hellsing will turn London inside and out in order to find her." Integral said to herself, whether or not Alucard was listening was not her primary concern. For the past several years, the FREAK chips had become a growing problem in London and now finally to have an opportunity to come face to face with the No Life King who had a direct connection to their origins filled her mind with questions.   
  
"That won't be necessary…" Alucard answered, looking back over his shoulder to his Master who was suddenly jarred from her thoughts. Integral shot Alucard a confused look until he answered, his lips twisting into a grin. "She is here."   
  
Both Integral and Walter's eyes widened. Neither of them knew exactly what reaction to give. Without another word, Walter turned to leave. By this time, Alucard was already gone. Within minutes and by one command, Integral had every Hellsing guard lining the halls of the mansion, searching for any sign of her. Walter would have preferred her not to do this, for he wanted to welcome Rain, not portray her as a wanted criminal. But he also understood Integral's worry. Rain had been sleeping for so long and now she was awake and in London, carrying out her revenge. She was a vampire, something that wasn't exactly the perfect image of a welcomed guest for the Hellsing family.   
  
Walter made his way down the hall from Integral's office to the main lobby near the front door. He had no idea where she was, but a piece of him beckoned him to the entrance. He had once heard that a true No Life King would never enter the home of a mortal or other vampire unless granted entrance. Walking down the lobby steps from the second floor of the mansion, he walked to the front door where he stopped suddenly, resting his gloved hand on the brass handle. Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm his fast beating heart. He was about to see a window into the past.   
  
Opening the door, he stepped out onto the front step to look out into the court yard. It was dark, dimly lit by a few lamps that reflected light upon the light snow that floated to the ground where a thin layer of swirling mist hung just above the ground. The evening was cool, and even Walter knew that it was too late in the year for there naturally to be mist in the evening. Everything was silent and he strained his ears to listen for any sound of movement. Suddenly they caught the sound of nearing footsteps from somewhere in the courtyard before him. They were steady and unfaltering, walking slowly, one foot after the other, yet he could see no sign of movement. The footsteps stopped suddenly as he heard the sound of several guns being armed behind him. Quickly, he held a hand up, silently giving a signal for the guards to stand down as he glanced over his shoulder to look at them. Looking back to the courtyard he listened again for any sign of life.   
  
"Rain…" Walter said, breaking the silence. "I know it has been a long time since we last saw each other face to face, and I know that I no longer look like the same person whom you met in Poland. But I assure you that it is me and on my honour I promise you that it is no one here will bring you harm. These men are here to protect Hellsing and will not shoot unless given reason."  
  
There was still silence and for a moment, Walter wondered whether or not there was anyone even there. The air was cold and the mist still floated above the ground.  
  
'Yes, she is here. I can feel it.' Walter thought to himself.   
  
"Christoph sent a letter telling me what had happened." He continued, stepping forward. "I want to help you. Hellsing wants to help you. I know you are filled with grief-"  
  
"They stole him from me…" The air whispered, almost barely audible.   
  
"I know." Walter answered.   
  
"I will not rest until I find him." The voice said, become clearer as the mist before him began to swirl, concentrating itself before him.  
  
"I want to help you find him. Hellsing also offers its protection of you. But you have to stop your hunt."  
  
"I will never stop!" Rain suddenly cried, her figure bursting forward suddenly from the cloud of mist that had formed before him. Unexpectedly Walter found himself face to face with a window to his past. Rain hadn't aged a day, but she looked more mature.   
  
"You have to stop, for now you are one of the hunted." Walter said to her, the frustration immediately draining from her face. She looked at him and he back at her as confusion crossed her features. "Iscariot is hunting you."  
  
"Iscariot…?"  
  
"A group trained by the Vatican in Rome, to hunt down and destroy those they deem the children of Hell." A voice said behind Walter. Rain looked past him to a new figure that she didn't recognize. Walter turned to the doorway behind him to see Integral standing with her arms crossed. She and Rain's gaze were locked with one another.   
  
"I am in no way connected with Rome; my search for Frost is none of their concern." Rain said.  
  
"They have made it their concern, just as I am making it mine." Integral told Rain. "England is not your battle ground and I have made a pledge to its Queen that I will not allow you or Iscariot to fight here."  
  
"We will help you find Frost, I promise, but you have to understand that if you fight here in London, you will attract unwanted attention and eventually more than Iscariot will come looking for you."  
  
"They already have." Rain whispered, taking a step back from Walter.   
  
"What do you mean?" Questioned Walter, as Integral walked up beside him.   
  
"The men that I hunted were not simply thieves. They were Nazis." 


	8. Order 8: Rituale Romanum

Despite a welcoming gesture made by Walter for Rain to enter the Hellsing mansion, she did not move from her place several feet from Walter. She watched him for a few moments, silent, her eyes blank until slowly she lowered her head and stepped back.   
  
"I cannot stop…" Rain said apologetically. "No matter who hunts me, no matter what dangers, I live for Frost, something I am certain that you know. To stay here would put your entire house in danger."   
  
She looked to Integral, whose expression was cold. "I cannot give an explanation as to why the Nazi's have led me here to London. All I know is that they have his remains and they plan on using them for FREAK production." Rain explained. "I can't let such sickening acts continue."  
  
"Iscariot will hunt you." Integral pointed again.  
  
"And what else is new?" Rain scoffed, shaking her head. "Since I can remember there has always been some group somewhere that has taken up the hunt against us. It no longer matters who decides to fight me – every hunter is the same as the one that preceded it."   
  
Slowly she turned to leave.  
  
"Something led me here… Premonitions of possible futures have filled my thoughts since I awakened from my long slumber." She said softly.  
  
"What have you seen?" Walter questioned.   
  
"Horrors." She answered, looking back over her shoulder to look at Hellsing's steward. "A great evil approaches and it is coming to devour us all…"   
  
Without saying another word, she looked back and began to walk away. Before Walter could say anything, her figure vanished as fast at it had appeared. Walter's mind was racing with unanswered questions and he knew immediately that change of plans had to be made. Rain would not give up the hunt so easily and now with Nazis and the Iscariot Institution becoming a factor in London's safety, Walter knew that a battle was unavoidable.   
  
Integral turned to go back inside, but came face to face with Alucard who was standing in the doorway. "Follow her, Alucard and take Celes with you. If a great evil is indeed approaching, I want it stopped before it gets anywhere near here."  
  
Alucard grinned, as Integral passed him, most likely returning to the confines of her office. History was about to repeat itself, and as the great plot unfolded, Alucard knew that he would have no worries about being bored.   
  
***  
  
Rome, Italy  
  
1632  
  
In 1614, under the direction of Pope John Paul, the first exorcism rite was sanctioned by the Catholic Church. Since then, priests under the direction of the Vatican in Rome became the deliverance ministry. By evoking the power of Jesus Christ, exorcists would expel the demons from the spirits of possessed mortals. Unfortunately, such an occupation was not without risk. The greatest danger to the exorcist is becoming possessed by the Devil or demon himself. This is the reason why an exorcist must feel as free of sin as possible and feel no secret need for punishment. Otherwise, the Devil can easily entrap him…  
  
Magnus Celer was one of the first exorcists under the direction of Pope John Paul V. Since 1614, when the exorcism rite had been first sanctioned, he had been there. He was a trusted and respected member of the Vatican in Rome and a loyal friend to the Pope himself. His purpose was to help save those who had fallen from the light. Kind hearted, he lived each day, following the word of the Lord, the word that he believed would save anyone's soul from the burning fires of hell… even if the soul was his own.   
  
Magnus had dedicated his life to his work, as there was no doubt in his soul about the power of Christ. God was everywhere and He watched everything, and no act by a mortal would be unpunished or unrewarded. Everyone would be judged at the moment they died, and those deserving of heaven would proceed to Saint Peter at its pearly gates, and those that had sinned would be doomed to burn for eternity in the fires of Hell.   
  
"Oremus. Omnipotens sempiterne…  
  
Deus, qui glorisae Virginis Matris Mariae corpus et animam, ut dignum Filii tui habitaculum effici mereretur…  
  
Spiritu Sancto cooperante, praeparasti: da, ut cuius commemoratione laetamur, eius pia intercessione ab instantibus malis et a morte perpetua liberemur…  
  
Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum...  
  
Amen…"  
  
The woman looked like death. As Magnus stood at the woman's bedside, his gaze traced over her deteriorating features. Her closed eyes had sunken in their sockets and her skin was a pale grey. Stringy white hair clung to her now cold skin.  
  
"The servants had found her this morning." The young priest next to him said. "They said that they had heard nothing during the night."  
  
Magnus's black priest robes ruffled as he reached forward gently and touched the tips of his fingers to her forehead Slowly he traced them down over her nose, mouth, chin and down over the nape of her neck where the came to an abrupt stop. Moving several of the strands of hair out of the way, the man's eyes stared carefully at the two small puncture wounds on the side of her neck.   
  
"She was visited by a demon during the night." Magnus whispered. The younger priest's eyes widened, and immediately formed the sign of the cross. "It drained the life from her."  
  
Magnus stared at the dead woman for several minutes. She was not the first. For months, woman and men, young and old, rich and poor had all fallen victim to some sort of darkness that would devour their life during the night, leaving nothing but an empty corpse to be found in the morning. And it had been for months that Magnus was searching. He had gone through every resource and he had only found one possible answer – a No Life King. Turning from her, he immediately left, leaving his apprentice to watch over the body as it would be prepared for burial. The most he could do now was return to the Vatican and continue his searching through his books. It was already nightfall by the time he left the home of the deceased woman and Magnus had no plans in resting now until he could track the creature down. Little did he know as he walked the streets that led to the Vatican that finding his creature would be easier than he had first assumed. High above the streets from the roofs, he was being watched. Even when he entered the safety of the grounds of Vatican City, a gaze remained locked on his figure from afar. As Magnus reached out to open the Vatican entrance, he stopped suddenly. A cold chill went down his spine, but he could not explain why. Shaking the feeling of restlessness, he opened the door and walked inside the main building.   
  
Returning to his room, where both his bed and study were located, Magnus closed the door behind him before walking to his desk were piles of paper, books and personal notes were scattered. Incantations, prayers and rites littered his small work space. He was desperate to find the method in expelling the demon from Rome, even if it meant giving his own life to do it. Sitting down, he poured himself into his work, sorting through his endless scribbles and notes, trying desperately to piece everything together. Absentmindedly as he did this, he fingered the crucifix which hung around his neck. After several hours, the words became blurry and began to blend into one another, as his concentration faltered. "How will I ever find you?" He asked no one in particular, tapping his fingers on the desk.   
  
"Perhaps you have been looking in the wrong place."  
  
Immediately Magnus looked and stood up from his chair. "Who's there?" He demanded to know, looking around the darkness of his chamber. Silence was his reply, and he strained his gaze to see into the shadows beyond the light of his desk candle.   
  
"It is the one you have been searching for…" The voice said into his ear. Magnus spun around, to find himself face to chest with another man. Crimson eyes stared down at the priest as ivory hair hung down over his pale face. Clad in high class black 17th century attire, he seemed more like wealthy aristocrat than the creature he had been looking for. He wasn't what Magnus had expected at all. "It is so nice to finally meet you face to face, Magnus Celer. I know you have been waiting for this meeting for a long time."  
  
Magnus stepped back but was stopped by the desk being in his way. "How did you get in here?"  
  
"My dear, Magnus, you underestimate my abilities. I go where I please." He smiled, brushing several white strands of hair out of his face with his black gloved hand. Urgently, Magnus reached for his crucifix and pulled it up to point it directly at the man.   
  
"Demon, you will succumb to Jesus Chri-" He gasped suddenly in mid-sentence when the man reached out and grabbed Magnus's wrist with such a firm grip, that a pain shot up his arm, causing him to nearly drop the cross.   
  
"Foolish mortal, your little toys have little effect on me, I am too old." He laughed, bringing his free hand up to Magnus's neck where his slender fingers curled around it, holding him firmly in place. "I've been watching you, Magnus…" His voice calmed as he drew in close to Magnus's face. "Do you think that I wouldn't take notice of your interest in finding me? How naïve you are… It is amusing…"  
  
"You do not belong in this world, demon." Magnus said, despite the tighter grip forming around his neck. "The power of Christ compels you to-"  
  
"-return to Hell?" The man asked, pushing Magnus back as he released his grip, but not before he Magnus one last push back, causing him to nearly loose his balance. "I expected more from you than recited rites. The Catholic Church has dulled your mind. You are young and you have so much potential in you, yet you remain here, in this place…"  
  
Magnus adjusted his collar while regaining his composure. "Why have you come here?"  
  
"You are very well known among those of the night, my dear human. I had to see you for my own eyes." The Vampire replied, a grin tugging at the edge of his lips. The tip of a white canine peeked out from below his upper lip and immediately Magnus turned from him. How was it even possible that a creature such as this could enter the house of God? "I have come with a preposition with for you-"  
  
"I do not make deals with the likes of you. You murder innocent humans to gain strength; you truly are a tool of Satan." Magnus said, casting a glance back at his unwanted guest with narrowed eyes.   
  
"I do not slaughter mercilessly, my friend. I am simply an angel of death." The Vampire spoke, looking towards Magnus. "I feed off the blood of humans for that is what I must do to survive, just as you eat the flesh and blood of animals to remain living. Do not brand me such a monster when you do not see the world with open eyes. This place has blinded you, just as it blinds all those who follow it."   
  
Magnus was about to reply, but was stopped before he even had a chance to open his mouth. The Vampire's hand was once again entwined around his neck, so tightly this time that it he thought his neck would be crushed. Spots danced in front of his eyes as he opened his mouth to speak, but no words could come out.  
  
"Consider this my greeting and farewell to you, my dear human…" He said, drawing Magnus's face closer to his own. "But not before I give you my departing gift…"  
  
Magnus's hand gripped the crucifix in his hand tightly as the Vampire drew his lips to Magnus's neck.   
  
'Forgive me, Christ Jesus…' Was the last thought Magnus could think coherently as he fell into the Vampire's dark embrace. 


	9. Order 9: The Watcher 'Edited'

**Order 9: The Watcher**

**London, England – Present Day**

The moment the cell phone rang, it was answered – giving almost no time for its sound to split through the otherwise quiet night air. Across the street from the Hellsing mansion, an unnoticed figure stood in the black shadows of trees, watching the front gate intently. His attention was unwavering as he brought the phone to his ear.

"Dieses ist Geiger."

_This is Geiger..._

The man said into the phone and waited for the voice on the other end to speak. As ordered, he had followed Rain, undetected by her as she had traveled across the city of London to this place – the Hellsing Mansion.

"Haben Sie sie gefunden?"

_Have you found her?_

The voice on the other end answered in German.

"Ja. Wir haben 'Das Erste' Childe aufgespürt. Sollen wir mit dem ursprünglichen Plan fortfahren?"

_Yes. We have tracked 'The First's' Childe. Shall we proceed with the original plan?_

The man who introduced himself as Geiger answered, a smile tugging at the edge of his lips as he spoke to his superior. There was a pause for a moment before the mysterious voice replied:

"Nehmen Sie sie gefangen."

_Capture her._

"Sorgen Sie sich nicht, Doktor. Die Falle ist eingestellt worden."

_Do not worry, Doctor. The trap has been set. _

And as quick as that, the conversation was over and the man on the other end hung up. Slowly, Geiger lowered his phone from his ear, his gaze never once leaving the gates since he watched Rain deteriorate into a cloud of mist and slip through the dark green metal bars. Why had she gone willingly into a lion's den? Grinning, he suddenly shook his head – it didn't matter. She could go to the Queen of England herself; it would have little effect on her fate. The truth of the matter was; she was not the hunter, but the hunted.

"Poor child..." He said to himself as he slipped the cell phone into his trench coat pocket. It was only a matter of minutes before he saw the dark mist recede back out from the fence and drift swiftly down the street away from the mansion. To any unsuspecting by-stander who may have been watching from the shadows like Geiger was, they would have been surprised to see the mist, as it drifted silently, transform into a young woman. But this was what Geiger had been waiting for. Watching Rain from his place in the darkness, he watched her as she slipped into the shadows, becoming undetectable by any mortal who may have been walking the streets at night.

"Clever... But we can still see you..." Geiger said softly, the sly smiling growing on his face. Strangely, the air beside him began to darken even more as suddenly the shadows began to concentrate into the form a cloaked figure, about the height of Geiger, floating several inches above the ground beside him. Beneath the folds of its hood, a glint of silver could be seen covering its chin, but other than that its face remained hidden.

"Let the hunt begin." Geiger whispered, without even looking over his shoulder towards the figure by his side. The figure said nothing as it followed Geiger silently in the direction Rain had gone.

"A great evil..." Rain whispered to herself, gripping both the Kosmos and Kronos blades tightly by their hilts. Something was in the air, but she couldn't tell what. She felt tense as the hair on the back of her neck rose. Whatever it was, it toyed with her senses – coming close and then falling away before she could pinpoint where it was coming from. Could it have been Iscariot, like Walter and Integral had mentioned? She couldn't be sure. Stopping for a moment, she breathed in, tasting the air. But in mid breath Rain stopped short of a full breath.

"No... Not Iscariot..." She said softly, lifting her head upwards. There was familiarity in the smell, but at the same time, it tasted stale and tainted. She listened closely to the sounds around her. Clenching her teeth together, Rain sank farther into the darkness, border lining the confines of her physical shell. In the distance, her ear focused in on the sounds around her. It was quiet, perhaps too quiet.

Trees gave way to more concrete as she sank further into the city of London. As she moved, the world around her suddenly grew empty and nothing but its shell remained. Rain looked around; there were no sounds of cars, people or animals. Not even the faint hum of street lights could be heard. It was as if the world around her had suddenly stopped. Her eyes narrowed as she immediately stopped dead in the middle of the street of what usually would have at least had some signs of life nearing the hour of dawn. Something was coming and she could feel it. Her grip on the Kosmos and Kronos swords tightened even more, as a slow breath escaped her lips. Suddenly, her ear caught wind of something moving not far in the distance. At first it sounded like a scratching sound, but as Rain's attention zeroed in on the slowly approaching noise, her opinion change. It didn't sound like scratching at all; it was shoes, scuffing against the concrete ground as someone walked. Rain turned in the direction of the sound, watching and waiting quietly for the source of the sound to make itself known. After a few minutes, the shuffling was accompanied by a moan and a gurgle rising in someone's throat. Then Rain's eyes caught sight of movement coming into sight beneath a street light not far down the road from her. A human – or was it? It looked like a human male, but it was stumbling, arms outstretched with contorted facial expressions as it was walked in her direction. Lifting the Kronos blade up, she pointed it at the approaching creature.

Silently, Rain caught a taste of death on the air that breezed past her. The ghoul only growled and gurgled as it continued its advance.

"Unnatural creature..." She whispered to no one in particular. The strange sounds that came from the ghoul before her began to multiply. Suddenly, from several more directions, she heard noises similar to those of the first ghoul rise up in the once quiet air.

Breaking her gaze with the first ghoul, Rain glanced around, over her shoulders to see more creatures like the first closing in around her. Instinctively, Rain readied the Kosmos and Kronos, all the while, her expression remaining blank. Closing her eyes, she calmly awaited the ghouls to come closer. Once they had made it into a close circle around her, she attacked. By stretching out both her arms on either side of her, the blades that she held reached past the circumference of the circling ghouls. Without hesitation, Rain turned full circle, bringing the blades with her. Decapitated heads fell to the ground, immediately silencing the gurgling sound that had risen in her ears. The last ghoul standing was given an extra bit of attention as Rain brought both the blades down into its head, slicing directly to the ground so that the undead creature fell in several pieces to the ground.

"A waste of time..." Rain said to herself, looking down at the tainted blood on her swords. Droplets of blackish-red blood dripped to the ground while Rain stared at the pieces of ghouls. Looking upwards to the sky, she knew that finding a place to rest for the day would be more of a priority than searching till dawn for more pieces of Frost. Turning slowly away from the death lying at her feet, her eyes suddenly fell on Geiger, who stood not from her in the middle of the street. He was dressed in a black trench coat; strands of his short black hair fell down in front of blue eyes that stared with a gaze unwavering at Rain.

"Who are you?" Rain pierced the silence with a cold voice.

"My name is Geiger and it is a pleasure to finally have a chance to meet you, Child of the First." He spoke in a thick German accent and immediately upon hearing his voice; Rain brandished her blood covered swords.

"You are one of 'them' aren't you?" Rain hissed in disgust. "Are you here to try and take back what is rightfully mine?"

"No." Geiger answered, showing no emotion as the woman growled at him. "I have been sent here to take back what is rightfully ours." He replied. Rain took a defensive stance, lifting up the Kronos so that it was aimed at his throat.

"If you move, I will kill you." Rain barked, showing no signs of relent. "All I ever wanted was Frost and you Nazi dogs thought it was your right to destroy him! You deserve the same fate as what you inflicted upon your victims."

"The First is not dead." Geiger's words cutting the air like a knife. His words, repeated over in her mind so many times that she lost count.

"Liar..." Rain replied, her voice now quiet as the aiming of her swords became suddenly less steady than before. Geiger had caught her attention, even though she tried desperately not to show it. "He died in my arms at the Auschwitz Death Camp."

"For an immortal, you think in such mortal ways." Geiger said, walking towards her, unafraid of the threat that she held in her hands. "You do not belong here, Child of the First. I have come to take you back to where you will belong. Come with me and I promise I will bring you to the First."

"The promise of a Nazi is a mouthful of lies." Rain said, refocusing her attention on her target. "I believe none of the words you speak."

"How can you be so sure? So much has happened in the sixty years that you've been asleep." He continued, stopping only inches from the tips of her swords. "I swear that the words I speak are true. The First lives."

Geiger lifted his hand, making a motion to push on of the swords out of his direction.

"Get back, human!" Rain hissed through clenched teeth, and in a rapid manipulation of the sword that Geiger had attempted to push aside, Rain quickly slashed Geiger's palm. "Next time you will loose more than the skin off your hand!"

Geiger's eyes narrowed in abhorrence as he looked at the gash across his hand.

Slowly he stepped back and turned from her, making it seem as if she was a waste of his time until he said: "Naughty little girl..."

Her attention was rapidly taken away from the man before her as soon as her eyes caught sight of her exhaling breath. There was mist rising from her lips as she exhaled a breath of air. This wasn't anything out of the ordinary until strangely the vapor began to crystallize. Thousands of tiny shards of ice remained hanging before her in the still air. Time stopped, or at least Rain felt it did. Her vampire eyes were filled with shock as they stared at each individual splinter of ice.

"It can't be..." Rain whispered, a tear falling to her pale cheek, which trailed downward for a moment before turning to ice. Slowly, Rain managed to look away from the beauty of the icy shards that caught what little light there was in the hours before morning. She looked to Geiger, who now had a sly smile across his face.

Unexpectedly, Rain felt something cold encircle her neck. Spinning around, Rain felt the icy touch turning to a tightening grip. She gasped, startled as she found herself suddenly unable to breath. Before she had a chance to take a step back, she felt something cold close in around her body and pull her forward. Looking up, her eyes caught sight of a silver mask, shrouded in the folds of a black cloak. It was smooth, except for the two shadowy eye slits that looked down at her.

She felt weak as the swords dropped from her hands to the ground.

Hanging in the unknown's arm, she felt her lungs freeze within her chest and she felt that if the creature would cease holding her up, she would collapse under her own weight.

"Rain!"

Distantly, from the cold darkness that was closing in around her, she heard a familiar voice. Casually, Geiger looked over his shoulder to see who it was.

"And who might you be?" He asked, smirking as he looked at both Walter and Celes, who was aiming her berretta 9mm hand gun at his face. "How charming, is this how you greet everyone you meet? Unfortunately for you, it is futile. You can't kill me, girl."

"She can't. But I can." Another voice whispered, taunting him from Rain's direction. With suddenly narrowed eyes, Geiger looked back towards Rain to find he was staring into the barrel of a gun. His gaze shifted quickly from the gun to Alucard who was also pointing another gun towards the masked figure that held Rain. "And I can kill your little pet as well. Allow me to demonstrate."

Rain heard the gunshot in what felt like an eternity before it hit the figure directly in the forehead, causing it to loose its hold on her body as it recoiled back. The ice crystals that had been hanging in the air suddenly fell, chiming softly as each shard hit the ground. Their sound echoed in Rain's ears as she was unable to stop her limp body from being taken by gravity. Closing her eyes, she fell to her knees and then the ground. Seemingly dead until after a few moments her eyes suddenly flew open as she was able to take her first breath. Coughing as she gasped for her, her lungs ached. She gripped her chest, the frozen feeling gradually subsiding.

"Your efforts are in vain, my friend." Geiger said to Alucard whose attention was on the figure, whom at first had been knocked back by his assault, but slowly regained his composure. Rising up, he towered over Rain's fallen body and easily stood at Alucard's height without any effort. "You cannot kill the First."


	10. Order 10: Witch Hunt 'Edited'

**Order 10: Witch Hunt**

'You cannot kill the First...'

"Frost..." Rain whispered in disbelief, the strength in the meaning of that one sentence that Geiger had spoken caused her to freeze in mid movement as she tried pushing herself into a sitting position. Still partly sprawled on the ground at the dark creature's feet, Rain stared downwards, her eyes wide with shock as a quivering breath escaped her lips. But she wasn't the only one in shock. Both Celes and Walter stood together, astonishment written clearly across their faces as they stood not far from Alucard who continued to aim his handgun the Casull at Geiger's face. Rain inhaled and exhaled slowly, her skin visible paling as she slowly lifted her gaze upwards. Over the dark folds of his black cloak to the smooth silvery mask, which Rain now noticed to not be as smooth as she first assumed. An intricately woven design of pentagrams and ancient text were etched faintly into the silver on its face. Above and below each eye on the cheek and forehead of the mask, the head of a screw could be seen bolted securely into the mask, assuring that it could not easily be taken off. Strangely, for a being that had just been shot in the forehead, the mask looked in perfect condition – no indents or even any scratches. "Master...? How can it be...? Y-you died. You told me you had to leave. Your body was destroyed in Auschwitz."

Rain was unable to break her gaze with the silver mask, which also appeared to be staring back at her. She waited for some type of response, but the creature remained silent. "Why don't you speak?"

There was another pause, but once again he said nothing.

"He cannot." Geiger finally answered. "His body and soul are bound against it."

"Bound?" Rain gasped, as she continued to stare.

"The Millennium Reich saved him from the pain, child. After his death, his spirit became nothing but a grieving soul, plagued with memories of his former life. The pain consumed him until finally he become nothing more than a wild poltergeist, mad with anguish until we freed him of the chains that bound him. We returned to him a body so he could be apart of this world once again without memories of his painful past. For a price, he gave himself willingly to the Millennium Reich."

_Long lost words whisper slowly to me  
still can't find what keeps me here  
when all this time I've been so hollow inside  
I know your still there_

_- Amy Lee_

All the lost years, all the tears she cried, every step she had taken for him – it meant nothing. She felt suddenly hallow. Without purpose, she felt as though her existence had suddenly become some sort of sickening joke. A sour taste rose in the back of her throat along with the urge to scream out. Clamping her jaw tightly shut, she tried to hold back the cries inside her. The agonized howls accompanied a fire that began to burn through every pore and vein in her body. It was like before, she could feel it. Slowly she leaned forward, finding it suddenly hard to keep upright as the world in her sight began to spin. Geiger's lips twisted into a smile as Rain's knees nearly buckled beneath her.

"History is repeating itself, Angel of Death Walter." Alucard said. The moment Walter's eyes fell on Rain's face, he knew that she was slipping away from reality. Her pupils were barely visibly and her eyes held no coherency.

Without warning, she reeled backwards, lifting her gaze to the sky. Her hair suddenly appeared as though it gaining a life of its own in the still airs. Strands of black locks curled up and around the curves of her figure with the resemblance of snakes.

"Ich bin... verraten worden..." She whispered, staring upwards to the dark blue blanket above. The sky was becoming visibly lighter at the forthcoming onset of dawn.

_I've been betrayed..._

She could feel the power coursing through every vein with each pump of the heart within her. Unexpectedly a gust of wind shot past Walter. It had risen out of nowhere and had almost knocked him off his own feet. Yet no matter the distraction, he kept his eyes on Rain, whose body, when it was hit suddenly by the wind, dispersed like vapor.

"You cannot run, Child of the First! Your body belongs to the Millennium Reich." Geiger called out to empty air, knowing full well that Rain could hear him. He looked to the First, his grin never once fading from his face. "Capture her." He commanded the First who with an immediate nod and reverent bow, disappeared from sight.

Geiger then turned around, his eyes narrowing in annoyance as they looked from Alucard to Walter and Celes. "It will be like before. Only this time it will be on English soil..."Geiger's voice trailed off as Alucard pressed the trigger of the Casull, the hand gun that was pointed at Geiger's head.

"Die miserably." The No Life King hissed softly in the split second before the gun fired. There was no time for Geiger to reply as his head exploded into unrecognizable pieces of flesh and bone. His headless body stood upright for a moment before crumpling to the ground. Everything went silent and Walter could not stop himself from staring at it in shock. Could this have been one of the many horrors Rain had dreamt of since her awakening? She had spoken of premonitions that had filled her thoughts and as Walter gazed down at the mutilated body of Geiger lying on the ground, he now began to see pieces of a large puzzle beginning to fall into place. There was a reason behind her coming to London.

"Revenge..." Walter whispered.

"We must quarantine this area immediately..." Celes managed to say after a few moments after her mind was able to recover from the sudden shock. "I will contact Hellsing and have these remains cleaned up."

Walter replied, looking to Alucard, who made no effort in hiding the large grin across his face. "We must stop them both before they spread their fighting across London."

* * *

Without effort, she passed over walls and rooftops. She didn't seem to care about a snapping cold at the backs of her heels. It felt like a dream. Rising up onto another rooftop, Rain looked back over her shoulder through strands of swirling black hair for her pursuer. What seemed like out of no where, a metal clawed hand covered in frost took shape in her vision. It reached for her quickly and instinctively, Rain's body twisted quickly to the side to avoid his touch. The folds of her jacket trailed behind her as strands of mist continued to curl around her body. As her body turned, she found herself suddenly face to face with the First. Her eyes caught the black wells of the mask, and Rain felt nothing but burning anger inside her. Hissing suddenly, she shot her own hand out to the mask. She knew he hadn't been ready for it as she curled her fingers around the mask's edge, feeling her nails sink into the softness of flesh. That's when a sound was finally drawn from the silent creature. A muffled shriek came from behind the mask as Rain pulled with all her strength, trying desperately to rip it from the First's face. The icy scream that rose in the First's throat was inhuman, but Rain would not yield. With her free hand, she brought it forward into the creature's chest. But in retaliation, as Rain's hand pierced through the First's ribs and lung, a taloned hand shot out from the folds of the black cloak and seized her face. His frozen claws sank into her cheeks and quickly he jerked her back so that her hand came free from his chest. Dangling like a ragged doll in his hand, Rain only had a moment to stare into the shadowy wells the eye holes of the mask before he threw her down so mercilessly that it dented the roof on which they stood. Without hesitation, he brought his claws downward, returning the favor in which Rain had given him. Sharp metal fingers pierced her stomach like a knife while his other hand grabbed her neck, pinning her to the ground.

She clenched her teeth together, her blood suddenly gathering in the back of her throat. As Rain tried to take a breath, she choked. Blood rose in her mouth and up over the side of her lips, trailing down the side of her pale cheeks. Suddenly, within his grasp, her body dispersed in a cloud of black mist. The First rose from his looming position, his clawed hand covered in blood. He looked over his shoulder, his gaze following what at first appeared to be vacant air, but from the droplets of blood that trailed along the ground to the edge of the rooftop, he knew differently. He turned swiftly as the air at the roof's edge abruptly gave signal to Rain's position. Portions of black mist began to combine, revealing Rain's figure clenching her stomach as she jumped to the next roof. The First pursued to the edge of the building where he stopped suddenly, watching Rain jump less than gracefully to a steeply slanted and visibly weathered roof. The roof of the adjacent building was the roof of a vacant church and as Rain landed, she was unprepared for the wood collapsing beneath her feet. Through the planks she fell, luckily able to catch her free hand on a rafter in the ceiling, high above the broken pews below. Pieces of the roof fell to the floor, stirring up small clouds of dust. She had no choice but to release the hold she had on her bleeding abdomen, in order to grasp the rafting so that she wouldn't fall. Even with her body's vampiric ability to mend itself, she could not escape the mind numbing pain that the First's touch had caused. Pulling herself up onto the beam, she managed to regain her balance before the roof above her suddenly exploded inwards, showering her with hundreds of pieces splintered and shattered wood. Instinctively Rain held up a hand in defense, her eyes narrowed as she caught sight of the First's figure following in the wood's wake. Jumping down with flawless balance and, he landed perfectly facing her on the beam. As the shower of splinters fell past her, she grabbed for the mask again. The First unsuccessfully reeled back in an effort to escape Rain's touch, but because of the limited space on the beam she managed once again to curl her fingers around the mask's edge. Again he tried to wrench her hand free, but his sudden movement back caused her to loose her footing on the beam. Rain's unrelenting hold drew the First down with her as they both suddenly found themselves plummeting to the pews below. A loud crash echoed through the silent church, stirring up another large cloud of dust as they both hit the ground. Rain was still, lying atop the pieces of wood like a broken doll, staring up at the rafters, her fingers still tightly curled around the silver mask now finally ripped away from the First's face. She didn't move and even if she had wanted too, she couldn't. Pieces of broken wood impaled her through her arm, chest and stomach and as she laid, the mask in her hand, blood trickled out from her nose and mouth. After a moment, the familiar black cloak of the First slowly came into view above her, his face still veiled by the shadows of the folds of his robes. Reaching down, he grabbed Rain tightly by the scruff of her collar and quickly pulled her upwards, freeing her from the spikes that pierced her frame. She had no time to gasp in the sudden pain rolled through her, before she felt herself being violently swung from his claws. She lost her hold on the mask as her body crashed suddenly into what was left of the small wooden altar at the front of the church. There, she was left suddenly in the same position as before. Hissing as blood dripped from her mouth Rain watched the First approach her again. Rolling to her side, Rain slid an arm beneath her; pushing herself into a sitting position. Beneath her remained a pool of blood coating the broken wood but it meant nothing to her - it would not stop her from getting revenge on the tragedy of Auschwitz, even if the enemy she was fighting now was the one that she had been fighting for. He grabbed her again; his aggression unrelenting as he sank his claws into her neck and lifted her up so that her face was only inches away from his own. She could feel his raspy breath, rising and falling like waves of cold water on her skin. She would not yield. Reaching out, as she hung from his grip, she grasped the hood that obscured his now unmasked face. Pulling with what strength she had left, the robes fell away, finally revealing the face beneath.

For a split moment Rain finally saw him, before he quickly released his hold on her neck, drawing back to hide his face from her view. Strands of thinning white hair ran down over a scarred face that partially was hidden by bloodied bandages wrapped around his eyes that showed signs of scaring beneath their edge. Blood seeped from the holes above and below his eyes that had held the screws of the mask onto his face. Stitches ran through his lips, another clear contributor to his silence. But as the First shrank away, she lost her only means of support and her legs gave way beneath her. She crumpled to the ground, blood running down over the front of her body from wounds on her neck and abdomen that strangely showed little signs of healing. It was as if the First's attack had been specifically created to be some sort of weapon against vampires, even though he was originally a vampire himself. Rain's hands flew to her throat, covering her torn skin as best she could in an effort to stop the bleeding.

"Frost!!" She cried in agony, the name fading to a gurgle in her throat as she coughed up more blood.

'Is this the existence you gave your soul for? You don't know how you've betrayed me, Frost.' Rain's thoughts reached out to his as now she could barely speak as the metallic taste of her own blood filled her mouth. It was not like the taste of fresh blood that you could only taste when feeding. The taste of one's own blood was stale and it turned her stomach more than it made her crave it despite the fact she had an incredible amount of blood loss. Exhaustion overcame her as she lay upon the blood stained ground, looking up to the First from the corner of her eye. She gasped lightly, choking again as she tried to breath.

'Don't you see me? Can't you hear me? Or are you lost and blinded by Geiger's lies?'

There was a pause in here telepathic touch before she gathered enough energy from her drained mind and body to continue. The First partially turned from her, pulling the hood of the black cloak back up over his head, veiling his defiled face once again.

'Did he tell you how they stole you from me? How they destroyed your body?'

In some way this caught the First's attention. As his hands fell away from his face, he turned back to the girl lying broken at his feet.

'You were my father... my Master... my lover...'

Slowly, the First leaned forward towards Rain who despite her lack of energy, caught sight of his extending hand and tried to shrink away fearing the biting cold of his touch. But the hand did not draw the heat from her as it gently slid beneath her, lifting her up off the wood. She whimpered softly, as his other hand reached to her forehead. Brushing bloodied strands of hair from her face, he pressed a cool metallic palm against her pale brow.

'Can you feel me in your arms?'

_I remember the days I still could breathe,  
now I'm sinking beneath the waves are crashing over me  
the empty space that lay between  
is all that's left of where our love was meant to be._

_Do you cry your eyes to sleep?  
Is it peace you seek at night when your body's weak?  
Did I leave you with the scars of a war torn ravished heart?  
Do you cry your eyes to sleep?_

_- Brian Transeau_

As the First laid his hand on her forehead, she felt her own thoughts being drawn forward towards his touch.

'No...'

She tried to move her head to the side to break his contact, but he quietly kept her in place with little effort. The world around her dimmed, she felt helpless to prevent the First from reaching into her memories. Frightened, yet distant eyes screamed for release against his mental touch. She could feel him inside her, watching and listening to the secrets of the past that she held locked inside.

'No... Not again...'

_She remembered being a child, born to a wealthy family in Hungary during the late 18th century. But there were complications when she had been young. Her body had been wracked with sickness, unable to rise from the confines of her bed even to do the simplest task. The doctors called it a sickness of the blood; the priests called it the work of the devil. She knew they were right. She could hear their voices calling her, demonic whispers swirling around her in the darkness of night threatening to devour her whole as they tried to drag her into hell._

_She remembered her cries going unheard through the tormented nights. It was as if her parents were ashamed or scared – through her hallucinations, she couldn't tell which. She remembered the loneliness she had felt until she saw the eyes - the red and silver eyes that stared at her from the shadows as she lay in bed. At first she believed it to be a hallucination created from her loneliness, but when a voice finally accompanied the eyes, she knew it to be different. Unlike the other creatures that came from the obscurity around her, this one was gentle. His soothing words calmed her and his touch cooled her burning skin. With each passing night, the dark angel came, guiding her from away from the demons in her head. For the first time in a long time, she began to think clearly. The voices were going farther away and her fevers began to subside. But her family still kept their distance. Perhaps they were frightened of the fact that she talked to the shadows every night. But a part of her knew that they weren't even her family anymore. All she had left was the voice._

"_What is your name?" She remembered asking him._

"_I do not have a name." The voice answered. A single candle was lit next to her bed casting dancing shadows around her room. She saw his eyes at the foot of her bed. They burned like the fire of the candle, blackening out his features so she could not see. That was the way he had always been. Never was she able to look upon his face, only his eyes were visible to her._

"_Why? Everyone has a name." _

"_Every 'human' has a name." He said, being more specific. "I abandoned my human name since I am not longer human. My name has been forgotten."_

"_Oh..." She whispered in child-like disappointment. "Don't you miss having a name?"_

"_I have little need of one. I am alone and have been for many years."_

"_I am alone too...My family, they hide me away. They think I'm mad..." She whispered. _

"_They are frightened that you are sent by the devil. You live in a dangerous time, my child. They hunt amongst themselves for witches and demons that do not exist. Eventually they will come for you." The voice replied. "Your family hides you so no attention is drawn to you."_

"_I don't want to live like this." She answered, clenching the sheets of the bed with her tiny hands. _

"_I don't want to stay in this prison."_

_Silence filled the room as she stared downwards away from the eyes that oddly gave her comfort. After a few moments, she looked up the eyes, her own eyes flashing with a strange determination as she said:_

"_Can you take me away?"_

"_You do not know what you wish for, child. You would be condemning yourself to the darkness for the rest of eternity." He quickly answered, the eyes backing away from the child lying in the bed. _

"_I-If I stay here they will kill me." She said, tears welling up at the sides of her eyes as she tried to hold back the sobs in her frightened voice. "I don't want to stay here." _

_How strange it was that he was so enthralled by a human child. Her innocence fascinated him and all he wanted was to hold it. For nearly 200 years he had lost faith in the world, walking alone, his heart frozen. Perhaps it was fate that he would find her, lost to the world around her, crying out for guidance. He felt something stir within him – pity. After his eyes traced the outline of her face and hair, they came to gaze into her deep auburn eyes. They drew him into her soul and he found it almost impossible to look away. _

"_I don't want you to ever leave me..."_

_Slowly she extended her hand to the eyes at the foot of her bed. There it lingered in the air for several moments until she felt a twinge of fear within her that no touch would come. Had her request insulted him? After a moment she let her hand drop to her side, only to gently be caught in mid air by strangely a cold touch. The cold fingers of a strong hand entwined around hers softly. They felt like ice but she did not draw away. For the first time, the voice's face came into view as he drew her forward. Silver hair fell in front of a pale face that even as a child, she knew it to be beautiful. _

"_I will take you away from here. Away from the loneliness you feel. We will leave this world behind."_

_As he drew her in close to him, she fell against his chest that was clothed in very expensive gentlemen clothing. As she breathed she could see her own breath rise in the air. _

"_You are like frost..." She said softly. _

"_And you are the rain that has melted away the cold within me." He whispered, she closed her eyes, feeling reassurance which was short lived. Her vision was suddenly flooded by bright lights that had come from nowhere. The room in which they had been standing dissolved away and all she heard was Frost's voice: _

"_Run..."_

_She lost her hold on him and as she desperately reached out, a hand which she knew to be her Master's pressed unexpectedly against her chest. Her eyes met his, despite the blinding lights. They bore into her soul before the touch upon her chest suddenly pushed her back. Against her will, she lost her balance, falling immediately back over the stone edge of the bridge that crossed the Vistula River – The aging queen of Warsaw. _

"_Master!!" She screamed as his echoing roar was drowned out by a thunder of gunshots rising in the air before her body hit the frigid waters below. _

_Carried away by the river, she fought desperately for the surface, only to find that when she reached it, she was no longer fighting against water. She was standing far away from any river as now she found herself alone, standing, staring at the photos of the bloodied dissections of Frost that covered the wall. Rain quickly stepped back, her eyes wide. But she was stopped by bumping into the edge of something cold covered by a light fabric. Lightly a she ran her hand over the fabric without turning around – she already knew what it was. Apart of her pleaded with herself not to turn around. But the memory was unstoppable. Frozen tears stopped midway down her cheeks as she slowly looked over her shoulder to what was there. Atop a metal operating table was a bloody cloth that covered the nightmare that had haunted her dreams for over sixty years. Subconsciously, Rain reached out and took hold of the fabric, drawing it back towards her. Beneath it, she saw him as he was at Auschwitz. Without arms or legs, Frost's upper body lay on the metal table. _

"_Master..." She whimpered, reaching to him. Somehow a piece of her believed that simply by touching him, she could breathe life into his torn body. But it was not to be. Her trembling hand ran up the line of his chest to the nape of his neck. _

"_Rain... You must drink my blood."_

_She had truly never wanted to grant that wish. She had never wanted to take what life he had left so that she could live on as a true child of the night. But for some reason, she did what was asked of her without question. More droplets of frozen tears fell to onto his frozen skin as her lips descended onto his neck. She drank from him, his blood far sweeter than any she had ever drunk to fulfill her hunger. His body convulsed beneath her and as she drew away, her world descended into chaos. From that moment she only remembered bits and pieces of the proceeding events. She remembered Frost's body deteriorating into dust and the blood of the doctor's on her hands, but after that, the world became a smeared painting of colors and distant shapes that soon faded to darkness, leaving her alone. _

"_Frost..." She sobbed, bringing her hands up to her face. She cried into her palms, the tears no longer frozen. "Master... Why did they take you from me? I just wanted you..."_


	11. Order 11: Stolen Immortality

Authors Note: It has been a while since I have been able to update. I needed some time off but thankfully did not put the story completely on the back burner. I am determined to finish it and to re-write the first couple of chapters to make them longer and more indepth. I hope you enjoy Chapter 11 and I want to thank you all for all the support mail you have given!

* * *

**Order 11: Stolen Immortality**

The area was immediately quarantined from the general public in the early hours before the breaking of dawn. It was imperative that ghouls and other creatures of the dead be kept secret from the general public – what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them. Hellsing worked quickly in deposing of what remained of the broken corpses, as was the routine. It was Geiger's body that truly interested them. With great care, his remains were gathered and returned to the Hellsing Institution. It was clear from the way he had spoken, he had been there, during the time that Walter and Alucard had been in Poland during the Second World War – which was remarkable considering the fact he looked in his mid-twenties. How was it possible? As Integral overlooked the investigation at hand, she felt her stomach turn. She could feel the oncoming storm to English soil. It was her family's duty to protect the Queen and stop such a thing from happening. After being briefed by Celes and surveying the body of Geiger, she wasn't sure what to feel. Suddenly the situation wasn't such of an enigma as before. Unfortunately this fact didn't stop her from feeling troubled at the uneasiness in the air. Hopefully Alucard and Walter would find Rain before this extended into public view. That is what feared her the most, next to the fact that many innocents may suddenly find themselves drawn into a war that they know nothing about.

When Geiger's headless remains finally made it behind Hellsing walls, Doctor's began their search for any sign of a Freak chip implant. Expecting to find it anywhere beneath the dead patient's skin, their first assumption was that being a carrier of the chip gave him his longevity. But all attempts of locate an implanted Freak Chip failed. Geiger's prolonged life was caused by something else that no doctor could explain. Integral watched every moment of the operation. Celes had told her of his strange connection this man had to Frost as he had ordered Frost to hunt down Rain and without objection he obeyed. The pieces of this bizarre puzzle didn't fit at all. How was it that Frost survived the death at Auschwitz? Or was that even his original body that Celes had seen? Turning from the observation window of the surgery room, she left the doctors to finish their analysis of Geiger's corpse that would then be transported to the morgue until further notice. Passing a window that overlooked the Hellsing property, she stopped and looked out. Dawn had already broken and she had heard from neither Walter nor Alucard. Her mind felt overrun with questions and deep down she worried for her country. Her majesty, the Queen and every person in England were under the eyes of enemies that she thought had long been defeated and she never would have thought that they were originally created from a single vampire – Frost. Who was he? Where did he come from? Why was it him that the Nazi's chose?

She returned to her office, sitting alone at her desk as she tried to gather her thoughts. Then she remembered what Walter had said about the letter he had received from Christoph Berner in Poland – Rain held a connection to Iscariot. Rain had denied any affiliation with the Vatican, but how was this possible? Integral leaned her head forward, rubbing the back of her neck. Her head felt light, possibly due to the fact she hadn't slept in over a day. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, thinking quietly to herself. Rain was a vampire sleeping for 60 years in the cellars of a Synagogue in Poland. What right did Iscariot have to be there investigating her awakening?

_The Vatican sent members of the Iscariot Institution here to investigate. They demanded information about Rain and any information I knew of her and her heritage._

Integral opened her eyes. Heritage? What was it about her heritage that drew so much attention from Iscariot? She leaned back, and looked slowly to the wall where her father's self portrait hung.

'Father...' She thought to herself. 'If you were here now, what would you do?'

There were so many secrets left to uncover and perhaps it was her responsibility to find out exactly what was going on. But where would she start?

"Iscariot hunts you, Rain and they will do so unrelentlessly." Integral whispered. "Enrico, what secrets of her past do you know?"

* * *

Weakness enveloped her and her body shivered as the chilling darkness coldly sank into her aching body. As consciousness took hold, her mind was brought back to reality by a deep hunger gnawing at her insides. She was lying on her side, her cheek pressed against what felt like cold but smooth stone. Strands of her black hair swelled in every direction across the stone beneath her body. Her arms were crossed against her chest as her hands gripped her upper arms. She was cold – a strange feeling for a creature who was already dead. Her legs were brought up close to her chest in almost a fetal position. Like a frozen corpse, she lay in the unknown darkness, unconsciousness threatening to take her again if not for the hunger pains clawing at her insides. She desperately wanted to rise, but her body didn't obey the commands of her mind. Minutes dragged on into hours and it could have been an eternity that she laid on the cold stone and she would have remained there, unmoving, yet half conscious to the world. What a dreadful existence it was. To be halfway between life and death, unable to finish the job so that she would be free of the body that had now become her prison. Rain listened to the empty air. What had happened? The last she remembered was the First and his pitiless attack and her own past memories flooding back, drawn forth himself. She whimpered softly, but suddenly ceased as she felt a warm droplet of liquid fall against her cheek. Her disoriented eyes opened halfway, looking at an angle up towards what was above her. The familiar silver mask expressionlessly looked down at her, shrouded in a black cloak that almost completely blended in to the darkness encircling them both. She felt the warm droplet trickle down to her lips, followed by more droplets that fell one after the other. A familiar smell filled her nostrils as she opened her mouth instinctively as the first drop reached her lips. Her tongue licked the corner of her mouth, tasting blood and almost immediately a flame of coherency flickered in her eyes. Her jaw ached as she began to bite slowly at the empty air for more. She needed more. Before she realized what was happening, an unknown strength sparked within her. Rain's arms came to life, sliding beneath her limp body and instinctively pushing her up so that she could draw closer to the source of sustenance which continued to drop like droplets of rain onto her twitching tongue. Her head spun and the black world around her swirled with lights that danced in front of her eyes. All reality melted away except for this moment – she forgot the First and Frost, the Nazi's and Hellsing. All she needed and wanted at this moment was to feed. But this moment was broken momentarily when the First's familiar cold touch pressed against her chest, pushing her gently down to the floor again as something furry was brought to her lips. She would have questioned this, but she hadn't the time as reality slipped from her grasp again. Blood trickled over the wiry fur against her lips and Rain found she was unable to control herself as her teeth sank into the unknown thing. Lying on the ground, she brought her hands up to hold up what she immediately discovered to be a rat, but it didn't matter. Consuming greedily every drop within the rodent, its stiff body fell from her hands when she had finished. The hunger within her didn't cease and she remained lying on the floor, her eyes tracing the room that had slowly begun to take shape. It was small and completely made of stone. She lay between two stone tombs, and immediately she knew she was lying in a mausoleum. But where, she did not know.

"Why?" She asked. So many questions swam through her head and she found this word encompassed them all. Once again silence stood between them and it gnawed at her stronger than the hunger. The First stood over her, the mask tilted downwards in her direction. "How could you have let them do this? How could follow them after everything they have done?!"

She clenched her fist in frustration as she shut her eyes so that she didn't have to look upon the taunting mask. "I don't know why I even try to speak with you; you remember nothing of us and you have become nothing but a puppet – a shell of what you used to be."

There was a rustle of his cloak as he turned from the girl.

'_I had no choice.'_

Rain's eyes widened as her hand dropped away as the voice filled her head.

"It can't be..." She whispered, her voice border lining between incredulity and disgust. The First looked over his shoulder to Rain who stared at him in disbelief as she tried to push herself up. "You..."

'..._remember? Yes and I always have.'_

She could not find the words to say to describe how she felt at that moment. She felt empty, yet overrun with conflicting emotions that made her sick to her stomach. Leaning forward as she tore her gaze from his, she gulped for air, the dark room beginning to spin. Bringing a hand to her throbbing temples, her shaking hand ran fingers into her hair, clenching a fist full of the black strands.

"How could you do this to me?" She whispered, trying desperately to let everything sink in. "How?! Answer me, demon! How could you dangle me by a thread above hell? Monster! I trusted you and you betrayed me!"

Her screaming accusations cut the silence like a knife. All this time, he had known who she was, but said nothing. He had attacked her on Geiger's whim and it was only now after he had sent her to the brink of death and dragged her back that he chose to speak.

'_You know nothing of the circumstances behind my betrayal! If I had had a choice, I never would have let this happen!' _His voice boomed in her head, causing her mind to ache. Rain moaned at the splitting pain in her temples. Shutting her eyes, she tried mentally to block him out, but it was a futile attempt in her weakened state.

"There is always a choice!" She cried, her voice quivering.

The First turned back; about to hiss a reply but the sound of Rain choking down a sob caused him to immediately stop. The girl had begun to weep at his feet, no longer able to find the strength to keep the crushing pain inside where she had kept it bottled up for so long. She gripped her chest, heaving for air through her cries of anguish. The First watched her fall to pieces before him, her heart breaking like glass. He felt something almost forgotten emotion stir within him – pity. Slowly, he found himself sinking down beside her, but she shun her face from his view the moment he tried to reach out to her.

'_Rain... Listen to me. Listen to what your father tells you for we haven't much time.'_

His voice was quiet and calmed her mind. The palm of his taloned hand touched her hot cheek and guided chin upwards so that her face was pointed towards the mask.

'_My child, I am cursed...' _His mind said to her._ '... and I wish I could tell you everything that has happened in the past 450 years, but we don't have the time. Soon Geiger will awaken and I will be like before, his puppet to control."_

Rain's eyes widened, tears running down her cheeks and onto the cold metal of his taloned hands, freezing immediately.

'_Rain, you have no idea the pain and grief that has filled me since I was ripped from your touch. In death I was not free. When my body was destroyed, my tormented soul remained chained to the physical world, trapped in the Nazis grasp. I was mad with sorrow and heartache, but this pain was nothing compared to the prison I would soon be faced with. They used Geiger to take control of me – heed my warning, child, Geiger is not what he appears. He is a powerful sorcerer who used his black magic to bind my soul with his own, giving him immortality. Under the command of the Krieg, he instilled my soul inside this...'_ He withdrew his hand from her cheek, flexing the claw before her eyes_. '...hideous shell that moves at his will like some sort of string-puppet. I've tried desperately to escape this body, mutilating it in the process. But my attempts have been in vain. As long as I live, he will live, and as long as he lives, I cannot escape this curse. Not even destroying his body can stop him for he will find another host, another body to possess so that he may continue to live. He has used me to keep himself chained to this world.'_

Rain leaned her cheek into his hand.

'_Geiger's control has been weakened for the time being as he has focused all his power on finding another body. But this will not last for long. Soon I will be lost to you again, unable to act of my own free will. I have brought you here now to tell you that you must run. You must forget me and forget all of this._'

"I cannot!" She replied.

'_You must! You must leave London immediately.'_

"No! I will not abandon you to those dogs." Rain insisted. "Not when I finally know the truth..."

'_My daughter, you were brought here for a reason. You were lured to London to start a war. The Last Battalion wants nothing more than to taste war forever and they knew you would stop at nothing to find me, even if it meant waging a war against this place. Now I am telling you that you must not fall into this trap. Once Geiger awakens, I cannot begin to imagine the horrors that could befall this country. He will send me to hunt you and I will not be able to prevent it. The Krieg, the Nazi leader, knows of your existence. He knows you are my Child, my only true descendent and like me, he wants you for his own.'_

"Then I will go to him by my own free will."

'_No!'_

"Yes, Frost. I will stay by your side, no matter the cost. Even if you cannot act on your own, I will be there to comfort your tormented soul." She said.

'_Rain, you cannot do this. You cannot allow yourself willingly to fall into their hands. I had always told you that you must never take the life of an innocent. If you come with me, you will be turning your back on everything I taught you.'_

"Master..."

'_I am not your Master anymore, Rain. You have come so far from the child that I knew. You have grown into a beautiful woman, one I do not wish to see drawn into this bloodshed.' _As the First said this, he stroked a thumb against her cheek as his palm curled delicately under her chin.

"I have already been drawn into this madness and it doesn't matter how far I run, I will be hunted till the ends of the Earth. I will not run from the Nazis or the Vatican."

'_Vatican?!'_ Frost's mind spoke out in surprise. _'Rain, please listen to me, you must ru-'_

**_Your dirty little secrets are coming to light, Das Erste._**

The First reeled back immediately away from Rain, as Geiger's familiar voice filled his head.

'_Rain!'_

Bringing both hands up beneath the folds of his cloak, he clenched the sides of his head. Rain's heart immediately sank as The First fell towards the wall, looking for support. A mental howl rose from his mind as his talons sank into the stone. Dragging his hands down, the granite peeled away, leaving claw marks in their wake.

**_The Krieg will not be pleased that you would try to spoil his plans. But no matter, she will fall into our hands no matter the choice she makes and you, Das Erste, will never be free. _**

"Frost!" Her voice jarred him from Geiger's words, but only for a moment. "Fight their control! Don't listen to them!" She said, watching him from her place on the ground.

'_My love,'_ His mind gasped, his voice beginning to dim._ 'Please forgive me. Please forgive my secrets and the life I have kept hidden from you.' _

Pushing himself away from the wall, he turned back to her. Stepping towards her, his step faltered. Rain tried desperately to scramble to her feet, but her weakened body kept her anchored to the ground. The First could feel Geiger's grasp enclosing in around his mind and body. It felt like ever ounce of air had been sucked from the room and he was left unable to breath.

"Don't leave me again!" She screamed, reaching out to him and him to her. But suddenly his hand fell away from her extending touch. Reaching up to the mask, he tilted his head back, his body erect.

'_You are their means to an end.'_ He whispered, even if Rain may not have understood its meaning. She could feel the chill rising in the air as the temperature suddenly dropped, her breath becoming visible. Her heart sank, staring at him with frightened eyes. All Rain could do was watch, unable to help him fight the battle he fought within.

I had nothing to say  
and I get lost in the nothingness inside of me  
I was confused...  
and I live it all out to find, but I'm not the only person wit these things in mind  
Inside of me...  
But all that they can see the words revealed  
is the only real thing that I got left to feel  
Nothing to loose...

Just stuck hollow and alone  
and the fault is my own and the fault is my own

-Linkin Park

* * *

The autopsy on Geiger's body was finished and it was confirmed that was a negative host of the FREAK chip. Somehow, he had gained some sort of longevity on his own. As the doctor's cleaned up, his body was covered by a simple white sheet and brought to a cooled room in the basement of the Hellsing mansion that would serve as a morgue for the time being until his body could be cremated. The young doctor who wheeled the body into the next room looked no older than his mid-twenties and clearly unfamiliar with the story of the body laid out before him. To him, he was simply another body brought in to be searched – although he did find it strange that the body had been brought directly to the Hellsing Mansion, an abnormal place for what he thought to be a protocol autopsy of a FREAK. There must have been something about the body that Lady Integral wished to keep secret. But nothing seemed out of the ordinary – until he pushed past the doors of the morgue and found himself alone with the headless body for the first time since it had been brought in.

"At least the poor sod died quickly..." The doctor mused, standing for a moment to let his eyes graze over the snow white sheet that showed the contours of Geiger's body.

**_Died? You are sadly mistaken, mein gewählt. _**

It was as if someone had silently crept up behind him and whispered into his ear. Startled, the doctor spun around, only to find himself alone within the cold room. Perhaps it had been his imagination as it was not an uncommon occurrence for someone that had just taken part in an autopsy, let alone the autopsy of a headless corpse. The doctor shook his head, trying to shake the feeling that there was something else within the room besides himself. The Hellsing mansion was a strange place and he had heard many rumors of the creatures that lived within its confines. Whether or not those rumors were true was something that he could only imagine. Trying to push the uneasy feeling from his mind, he turned to leave, reaching for the door.

**_Leaving so soon? But we have just met and I would just love to get to know you._**

The voice sent chills up his spine and he would have run from the room if it hadn't been for one thing. As he reached again for the door, its distance seemed farther away than it had been only moments before. Taking a step forward, the door suddenly distanced itself from him.

"What's happening? This must be a dream." The doctor whispered to no one in particular.

_**A dream? No, mein gewählt. This is no dream. **_

Something cold touched his shoulder and frantically he turned around to see what it was.

_**I can taste your fear and it is delicious. Give your body to me for there is a task that I must complete. **_

No one stood before him, but he could feel a frozen touch against his cheek, tracing down over the curve of his chin, neck and chest. As much as this scared him, he couldn't turn or look away. His body remained frozen like the touch that caressed him. With eyes wide, he felt the life-giving air being drawn from his body. His vision dimmed and the world faded away. It felt as though he was falling into some sort of slumber, unknown to him that he would never wake up. His head bobbed forward drowsily, his knees weak. The moment his eyes closed, they suddenly snapped open again as his head lifted. With a strange grin, he adjusted the collar of his scrubs and turned back and left through the door to the morgue and returned back up the stairs to the main floor of the Hellsing mansion. To those that he passed, they noticed no difference. Friends and colleagues whom he had finished an operation with on minutes before passed him in the hall, nodding politely as they did. No longer was he the person they knew, but the one they had been analyzing. Geiger, through the eyes of his new body surveyed the halls of Hellsing mansion carefully. There was a great opportunity to pry into the secrets of the house, but he knew there wasn't any time. The task at hand was to apprehend Rain, not to spy on the Hellsing family. He sighed within, a part of him wanting greatly to sabotage anything he could within the mansion, but he knew that the opportunity for such an occasion would come soon enough. Walking to the entrance and then out into the courtyard, no one questioned him as he walked to the guarded gates and then off of the Hellsing grounds.


End file.
